Unbroken
by roxypony
Summary: Before he was a Prince, before he was a General, before he was a terror to all things purple. Arrow's story - I'm still not satisfied with the beginning! Edits to come.
1. Arrow

Wowieee... so i totally just revised this chapter... id forgotten how disgustingly cheesy and all-over-the-place it was. Like holyy crap. Its still overly emotional, but i figured the emotions were fairly accurate given the situation, so i left them alone.

Soooh yeah! lol chapters 2 and 3 are still kinda sketchy, but I plan on fixing that! lol I really love the idea of this story, my grade 9 self just did a fucky job of writing it, lol.

This one still isnt as good id like it, but its definitley better.

Enjoy!!

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Fully blooded...at last. Arrow leaned back and enjoyed the feeling of Vampire blood rushing through his veins. He licked the bleeding tips of his fingers and grinned when the cuts were healed by his newly-enhanced Vampire spit. Arrow's mentor chuckled at his student's amazed expression.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Faren Dunraven noted.

"Feels unstoppable!" Arrow said giddily, carving his name into the tree he was leaning against.

"Lucky you. You have the better part of _my_ blood now, so guess who's going hunting for dinner tonight?" Faren said gruffly, trying to keep the pride out of his voice.

"What do you want, deer, bear, or mounatin lion?" Arrow shot back.

"Don't take your chances with carnivores, you have hundreds of years ahead to put yourself in danger." Faren growled. "I'll be content with rabbits for now, in a few days we'll be feasting in Vampire Mountain."

Arrow rolled his eyes, but grinned back at Faren as he jogged out of their small camp. As he reached smoother ground, he picked up speed. he considered attempting to flit, just for fun, but decided that it would be better to try under Faren's supervision.

Arrow had become a half-Vampire 5 years ago at age 7, after a Vampaneze attack left his parents dead while sleeping in a forest while travelling in search of a new home. If he had not been slipped off in the dark and climbed high into a tree to escape detection, he would not be here today. Almost a day later, Faren had been drawn to the kill site by the lingering smell of Vampaneze...although he did not find the purple-skinned creatures he'd set out to kill, he gained a son that day. And time had almost erased Arrow's memories of watching his parent's slaughter...

Now, Arrow and Faren were on their way to Vampire Mountain to bring news of the Vampaneze to the Princes, Paris Skyle, Arian Welver, and Hayden Romor. According to Faren, they had less than a week left of travelling and surviving off rabbits and the occasional deer. Arrow was glad, but was consumed with worry about how the Princes would take the news that he was now a full Vampire. He currently appeared to be about 13 years old. The the possibility that he could live to be at least 500 astounded him.

Shaking off worry, he tuned his senses to the world around him. His senses had been sharp as a half-Vampire, but now he was a full Vampire, and his senses were most definitley superhuman, to say the least. Now, he locked on to the scent of a nearby deer. She was somewhere to his right, amidst a thick grove of pine trees. Rabbits? He could save them for the weak human hunters.

Spine tingling with adrenaline, he moved quickly and silently through the trees. And he saw his target. It was oblivious as he snuck up behind him, but he moved to the left ever so slightly, and the wind carried his scent to the deer. She tensed, preparing to bolt, but Arrow was too quick for her. He snapped her neck and she crumpled to the ground. A perfect, painless death. And she wasn't small and sickly, either, like the other three deer Arrow and Faren had killed earlier on the journey. She was big and full of meat and warm, juicy blood. Grinning triumphantly, Arrow picked her up -she seemed so _light_!- and made his way back to camp.

"Did you get some rabbits?" Faren yelled without looking at Arrow as he returned to their camp.

"Nope, pretty poor hunting out here." Arrow said sarcastically as he set the deer down.

"I knew I should have gone myself-" Faren turned and saw the doe. "I told you not to go for deer." he added grudgingly.

"Well if you really don't want it, I guess we can just leave it here." Arrow rolled his eyes.

Faren stared long and hard at his belligerent student. "Cook it before I un-blood you." he growled.

"Get a mentor, Faren. Un-blooding is impossible."

Faren punched Arrow gently.

"That's your best punch? I'm overwhelmed. I'm suprised you're so scared of carnivores when you could turn them inside out with just one hit."

"Do you really want to see my best punch?" Faren said seriously, standing up.

"Bring it on, old man!" said Arrow, also rising.

The deer forgotten, they punched, ducked, jabbed, and defended until they were too hungry to move.

"I'll beat you next time!" Arrow groaned as he made a fire to roast the deer.

"I'm sure you will..."

They had no way of knowing there wouldn't be a next time.

***

They woke early the next evening. As they were rolling up their sleeping bags, Faren suddenly froze.

"What?" asked Arrow, alarmed.

Faren held up his hand in a "shut up, Arrow!" signal. For several tense minuites, Arrow stared at his mentor as Faren's wide eyes darted around, the edges of his nostrils widened and dialated, and he licked his lips as though trying to taste the air. Arrow's stomach clenched in fear. He'd never seen Faren look so scared until now, as he was pushing his senses to the limit, trying to detect something ominous. Finally, the older Vampire seemed to relax, and he murmered under his breath:

"70 miles away at the most..."

"What are you talking about?" Arrow inquired, shocked at how scared he sounded.

"Nothing!" Faren barked. Then he added more gently, "Nothing. You can just never be too careful, that's all." he smiled tersely, and patted Arrow's head. Arrow tried to smile, but suspected it looked more like a grimace. Faren saw it. He put his hands on Arrow's shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"Everything is fine. I swear."

"I believe you..." Arrow lied. But he would never forget the fear in his mentor's eyes.

They moved silently through the deep forest, not talking and joking like they usually did. This made the trip seem twice as long, but Arrow barely noticed, he was so lost in thought. Finally, the deafening scilence got the better of him. He broke it.

"Can I try flitting?"

No answer. Faren was staring straight ahead, eyes glazed as he walked briskly.

"Faren?" Arrow touched his mentor's arm. Faren jerked convulsivley and turned to face Arrow, looking alarmed.

"Charna's gut's! What is it, Arrow?"

"_What is it?_ I could ask you the same damn thing!" Arrow's indignation overpowered is quickly growing fear.

"Nothing!"

"After seven years you can't lie to me!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"WHY? What's happening?

_"I don't know what you're talking about!"_

_"What are we running from?" _

Faren froze. Like he had several hours before. Looking. Listening. Smelling. It was so quiet. Arrow could almost hear himself sweating.

"We have to flit now." Faren's voice was full of restrained panic.

"What are we running from?" Arrow half-sobbed.

"Flit. When _-if-_ we stop, I'll tell you."

_What do you mean, IF we stop? _Arrow managed not to scream. But he followed Faren as they picked up speed and began to flit. In a less terrifying circumstance, Arrow would have savoured the weightless feeling of zooming over the ground at who-knows-how-many kilometres per hour, but he was too petrified to think. Nothing scared Faren, at least that Arrow had seen. He tried to push it out of his mind. How long had they been flitting now? Minuites? Hours? An entire frigging day? No way of knowing. Then, without warning, Faren grabbed Arrow's arm and dragged him to a stop. Only after Arrow crumpled to the ground did he realise how exhausted he was.

"Where are we?" Arrow moaned. Faren didn't answer, but he he did grab him by the head and pour ice-cold water from a canteen down his throat.

"So you don't die of dehydration. You weren't prepared for that flit, I shouldn't have pushed you. You could have died within an hour without water." Faren grunted as he made a fire.

Arrow didn't comment on that bit of information.

"Where are we?"

"Deep in the woods, and about 200 kilometres closer to Vampire Mountain than we were this evening. We would have gone farther, but I decided not to let you drop dead of exhaustion." Faren's sad attempt at humour.

Arrow glanced around. They were at the foot of what appeared to be a black rocky cliff. The sheer rock face next to them was full of cracks, ledges, and caves. In normal circumstances, Arrow would have been all for climbing to the top, but he had more pressing matters to deal with...

"I want to know what's going on." Arrow said, looking his mentor in the eye.

"We're being persued by Vampaneze." Faren said abruptly.

That was it? For some reason, Arrow had imagined something more terrifying.

"That's all? Are you kidding me? We've fought Vampaneze before!" Arrow reminded him furiously.

"Never twenty at a time." said Faren, a note of quiet desperation in his voice.

Arrow's blood turned to ice.

"Why are the chasing us?" he managed to croak.

"They know we've got information about them. They don't want it to reach the Princes."

"What information?"

"That they're planning a massive attack on Vampire Mountain. The Princes have to be warned." A cloud of dread crossed Faren's face. "We have to split up. You flit to Vampire Mountain. Tell the Princes and Generals what I have just told you. And-"

"What about you?" Arrow cut him off fiercely.

"It is worth it." said Faren determinedly.

"WHAT'S WORTH IT? TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" Arrow screamed half scared, half furious.

"I would have thought you were smart enough to figure it out. The Vampaneze don't know about you. They won't know you've gone ahead to bring the news."

"I still don't understand..."

"Charna's guts, Arrow! Do the math."

It clicked. Faren was going to give himself up to trick the Vampaneze. He was going to die to make them belive that news of their attack would die with him.

"No." said Arrow obstinately. "If you think for one minuite-"

"We haven't got time for this, Arrow. Flit ahead. It's less than a hundred kilometres from the other side of this mountain."

"I can't let you die!" Arrow sobbed helplessly.

_"Go."_ said Faren viciously.

_He's not even letting me say goodbye._ The pain was unendurable.

He decided to try one more time.

"We can fight them!"

"Arrow, they're coming _now_. _You have to get out of here. _Prove that you aren't a complete failure."

Trying -and failing- to stop crying, Arrow hugged his mentor -his _father_- one more time.

"Be strong." Faren whispered, tears cascading down his own cheeks. "My son."

Arrow tried to speak, but could only manage a strangled sob. Faren stroked his back comfortingly. Then he stiffened and whisperd

_"Go_..._please_..."

Arrow ran. Kept looking back over his shoulder. Faren was still standing, but he had his sword at the ready. Ready to face death. Arrow couldn't resist. He stopped behind a huge boulder and watched. Then he heard it: Yelling voices. Branches breaking as a small army prepared to attack. He had to run. But he _couldn't!_ And as he watched, a line of twenty or more Vampaneze soldiers stepped out of the trees to face Faren Dunraven. Their apparent leader was almost six feet tall, with dark purple skin, long greasy hair, and the reddest eyes of any Vampaneze Arrow had seen.

"Rasa." Faren greeted stiffly.

"Faren Dunraven. It has been too long." the Vampaneze called Rasa sneered.

"Not long enough. I'd almost forgotten your ugly face, but it appears you have deemed it nescessary to jog my memory." Faren noted coldly. Even in the darkest of times, Arrow had to admire his guts.

"Kill him." Rasa concluded unceremoniously. His voice sounded immensely bored, as though he ordered bloodthirsty killers on innocent victims every day. And the attack began.

The first soldier to hit Faren was killed with a single blow to the neck. He didn't even have time to scream as Faren thrust his pale silver blade into the purple neck.

"Who's next?" Faren said sarcastically to the yells of fury from the others. This time, three Vampaneze charged him at once, and he barely managed to defend himself. But it wasn't enough. A spear traced accross his chest. Blood cascaded onto the ground.

"Is that the best you can do?" he snarled, but his teeth were gritted with pain. Arrow's heart sank like a stone.

Faren advanced on the Vampaneze ranks, fearlessly brandishing his sword. Looking death in the eyes. Walked right up to Rasa. The Vampaneze leader opened his mouth to make some rude comment. And Faren plunged his sword into Rasa's heart. Staring with hatred at Faren, the Vampaneze leader slowly collapsed, coughing blood. He was dead before he hit the ground. And the 18 remaining Vampaneze converged on Faren. Arrow prayed they couldn't hear him sobbing as he watched hopelessly. If he only he didn't have the damn message for the Princes, he wouldn't have hesitated to join the fight. Even if it was to the death.

He couldn't see Faren in the midst of thrashing purple bodies, but now four Vampaneze lay dead on the ground. Maybe Faren was doing all right. Maybe he'd kill them all. Maybe this nightmare had never happened. Maybe-

"GET BACK, HE'S _MINE_!"

Arrow didn't recognize the voice, but when the rest of the Vampaneze retreated to the shadows, one of the two remaining warriors could only be Rasa's son. His hair and face were identical, and his voice had the same cold, oily quality. The other one standing was Faren. Covered in heavily bleeding wounds, he raised his sword in a desperate attempt to ward off the inevitable death blow. Rasa's son advanced. Arrow closed his eyes. And heard Faren's peircing death scream.

The Vampaneze cheered cruelly. Except Rasa's son. He stared hatefully at Faren's limp form. He turned to his colleagues.

"We should leave before any more Vampires show up. There could be any number of them around here. We can't let them find out about us." he said in the same icy, monotonous tone Rasa had used when he first dispatched the attack. Muttering in dissapointment, what was left of the army flitted off into the trees.

And just like that, it was all over.

Arrow couldn't remember running to Faren's body, but he must have, because he found himself kneeling beside his only friend. Shaking him. Begging him to open his eyes. He grabbed Faren's cold, still hand in his.

"Faren..." he moaned desperately. "Wake up..." he realised how childish it sounded, but what else could he say? His only family, only friend, his entire life lay dead before him. And then, Faren's hand moved. Then his lips moved in an attempt to speak, but only blood tricked from his lips.

Arrow didn't dare belive it. But it was real. Faren was alive.

"You're alive..." he gaped incredulously as he wiped Faren's mouth on his sleeve.

"Arrow..." croaked Faren. "Arrow..."

"I'm here, Faren." Arrow couldn't help but grin through his tears.

"I told you to run...what are you still doing here?"

"If you thought I'd leave you, you're damn crazy! That fight was amazing, those stupid Vampaneze had no idea-"

Faren attempted a laugh, but it sounded like a deah rattle. "Ignorant boy...Listen, I'm dying. I might have...a little more than a 5 minuites to live..."

Arrow's pain came crushing back. _"No_...You just survived a battle with twenty Vampaneze! And now you're telling me that this is it? It all ends here? _Why?" _

"Don't ask me...to explain...the ways of the world..." His voice _was_ getting weaker. "Just promise me...two things..."

"Anything." Arrow whimpered.

"Go to Vampire Mountain...give them the message, that's the first thing...The second thing: I want you...to stay in Vampire Mountain...get trained there...make a fine Vampire. Maybe even a General...someday."

"I don't wanna live in there!" Arrow gasped miserably. "I can't live in a rock...I can't do it...We need to be together, out here...we belong out here."

"Arrow, you're being...incoherent. I taught you better...than that." his bleeding mentor chided him gently.

For the longest time, neither spoke. Just lay there.

"I'm scared." Arrow blurted out.

"Don't be. Vampire mountain is...only a hundred miles away. You're almost safe."

"I don't care about _me_." Arrow snapped. "I have to save you, I can't just leave you here, you can't just...There has to be something I can do!"

"Arrow...there's only one thing...you can do for me. If you want to help me...do what I ask. I don't have much time...I need to know you'll be safe."

"You never give me a choice, it's always your way or no way! What about me?" Arrow snuffled, half-sarcastic but half-serious.

"What about you? Well...it's your time...to go make me proud. You have always...been a son to me...and I love you...as I would have loved...any biological child."

"I love you too." Arrow managed to get out before he burst into a fresh tidal wave of tears. And he collapsed from the inside out, sobbing into his mentor's chest. Not long after, he lost consciousness. For how long, he didn't know, but when he regained his senses, the body of Faren Dunraven was cold and still.

And Arrow screamed. A piercing, drawn-out cry of grief and fury.

A hundred miles away, deep within the stronghold of Vampire Mountain, Mika Ver Leth awoke with a start.

* * *

Okaay so thats that! Hopefully it wasnt too crappy.

And this IS the story of my bbeh boy Arrow's life since DSS gave him like, NOTHING, and it will eventually contain the story of himself and his wife. This is my first long serious story, and I want it to be amazing, cuz it's for Arrow. So if you have ANY advice that could help, plllleeeeaaase give me a hand :) Thanks

BTW, This fic will also contain tons of Mika (his BFFL:), as well as Paris, Kurda, Larten, Arra, Vancha, etc. OC's will be fairly few, since I dont really like them.

OH, and theres also that other story Im working on with Elena, Onyx, about Mika's trials etc. So far i dont know how/if that story will tie into this one.

I thiink thats all there is to say... ttyl!

*Roxxy,


	2. Mika

Yepp, I edited it :)

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Enjoy... please?

* * *

Mika Ver Leth lay in his coffin and stared aimlessly at the dark ceiling in his small but cozy cell in Vampire Mounatin. He didn't know why he'd woken up so suddenly. He hadn't been having any dream he could remember, yet he felt strangely like he'd missed out on something important. But he dismissed the thought. He rolled over onto his side and pushed his spiky jet-black hair out of his eyes. He lay peacefully for several minuites, staring at the silk-lined wall of his adult-sized coffin, since there were no child-sized coffins available in the Mountain. Not that he minded, he had stuffed the overlarge coffin with worn out but comfortable pillows and blankets to make it cozier. He had his own small but pleasant room not far from the Hall of Princes. Not everyone approved of the fact that Mika had taken up permanent residence in Vampire Mountain, but since he was Paris Skyle's own student, no one dared disrespect him. But life in the Mountain was lonely. There were no shortage of adult Vampires, and Mika spent a lot of time training and practicing swordsmanship with Vanez, but he often wished for a friend his own age. He never got his hopes up, however. Mika was approximately 9 vampiric years old, and child Vampires were extremely rare - as he'd been told an annoying amount of times.

Mika slowly stretched and stepped out of his coffin. He mentally ran through his schedule for the day. First, he was going to grab something to eat and spend some time with Paris in the Hall of Princes, learning about traditions and cultures and such. He enjoyed learning about the ways of the Vampires, but he often had to leave the hall when there was confidential business, or discussions inappropriate for young ears. Then it was off do some training in the Hall of Games with Vanez, or to do odd jobs in the store room for Seba the quartermaster.

Slowly he opened his creaky wooden door and surveyed the hall. It was rather empty, a few Vampires were conversing quietly to his left, and to his right walking quickly in the direction of the Hall of Princes was a group of Generals. A closer glance revealed that they were being led by Paris Skyle.

"Good morning, Paris!" Mika called happily as he always did.

"Same to you, Mika." Paris called back without turning around. Mika frowned. Paris always looked at him when they spoke.

'Paris, wait up!" Mika yelled, running to catch up as his mentor became further away. "Can we practice with the double swords today? I saw Vanez using them, they look like fun-"

But Paris cut Mika's innocent stream of questions off when he turned around and suprised his student with an expression of extreme stress

"Mika, Vanez is already waiting for you. We have a lot on our plate, today will be terribly busy. I do not have time to teach you." Paris replied sharply. This halted Mika in his tracks. This was out of character, Paris greeted him with a warm smile _every_ day.

"Paris, wait! Busy doing what?" he started to ask, but his voice trailed off as his mentor dissapeared into the Hall of Princes. Mika was burning with indignation at being ignored by the closest thing he had to a father, but he pushed it out of his mind as he turned around to go to the Hall of Games.

_I never want to be a Prince! Much too much to worry about! _he decided with conviction

###

"Mika, I don't know what's wrong with you today!" Vanez scolded. "Your left backhanded swing is usually much smoother and straighter! I thought you had it down when we practiced last week."

"Sorry, I'll try harder." Mika answered robotically.

He knew he wasn't on top of his game today. Sword fighting was his number one skill so far, and on a good day he could have an relatively fair fight with Vanez, but Paris's irritability had made him edgy. Paris was the calmest, stablest Vampire anybody knew, and Mika knew that it would take a lot of trouble to put him in such a mood. The simple and brief conversation was bothering him to no end, and clearly was having a bad effect on his fighting skills!

Vanez gave him a funny sideways look, but as Mika's eyes made contact with his, his expression softened and he backed away and resumed offensive position.

"Very well. I'll attack you again. This time keep your wrist flatter as you go into the swing, you need extra momentum to carry it through.."

Mika nodded, keeping his eye on Vanez's long slender sword. Keeping his arm gently curved as he gripped his sword. His sword was really a large dagger that had belonged to a large Vampire, but Mika was very small by Vampire standards, and the dagger suited him perfectly.

Vanez lunged. Mika swung his dagger in an arc and brought it down on Vanez's blade hard enough to create sparks. The Games Master grinned at Mika's improved move, but his smile faded as he saw his student wasn't finished: Mika twisted the blade and wrenched the dagger downward, pushing the sword from Vanez's grip, then flipped it backwards. He attempted to catch the handle in his free hand, but he missed and the blade traced a bloody line across his arm as it sliced by. Unpreturbed, he thrust his dagger forward and gently pressed the tip against Vanez's throat.

"I win."

For a moment, student and teacher stood almost eye to eye, panting. Vanez looked shocked. Mika looked fiercely determined.

"I told you, we're working backhanded swings today." said Vanez cooly, pushing the dagger away from his throat.

"I did a backhanded swing." Mika answered with equal seriousness. "After that, I overpowered you."

"Mika, you're what, 7 years old? I'm almost 90. You couldn't have overpowered me."

"Then I tricked you!" Mika said in exasperation. "Either way, I disarmed you."

Vanez couldn't argue with the boy. Mika was wickedly intelligent and no doubt a swordsmanship prodigy. He was on his way to becoming a legendary Vampire, and he knew it.

"Vanez!" The voice was Paris Skyle's as he came striding into the Hall. Mika was shocked. If Paris had been busy enough to ignore him this morning, what was he doing here now? He rarely came to the Hall of Games, even to watch Mika.

"Vanez, I require the use of my student."

_What could Paris possibly want me for?_ Mika wondered inwardly, but said goobye to Vanez and exited the Hall, following Paris at a distance.

"Paris, will you please tell me what's going on?" Mika asked as politely and hopefully as he could.

To the student's suprise, the mentor turned to face him.

"Mika, I need your help."

"For what, helping Seba move supplies?"

Paris cracked a smile. "Something considerably more important than that." He paused. "A boy has come to our Mountain. A Vampire boy, newly blooded, about 13 Vampiric years of age. He was half-dead from exhastion when we found him just inside the mountain, sometime late yesterday. He's disoriented and terrified out of his mind, but we managed to get some information out of him, that's why I've been busy all day. His mentor was killed in a Vampaneze ambush on the way here, but he went on to bring a message to us-"

"What message?" Mika interrupted.

Paris looked grim for a moment, but pulled a strained smile smiled.

"Just Prince business, nothing you need to worry about."

Paris obviously missed Mika rolling his eyes, because he continued:

"I think he's given us all the information he could for now, but when he's more settled in, I wish to ask him about details of the attck, such as the names and appearances of the Vampaneze that were present. But back to you, Mika. I want you to show him around and get him accustomed to how we live here. He could use a friend close to his age. I was hoping he could share a room with you for his first few nights here, as the memories of the attack are still quite fresh in his mind, and I am quite sure he does not wish to be alone in a strange place."

"So he'll stay in Vampire Mountain?"

"He has no where else to go." Paris confirmed.

"I'll help him!" As tragic as the boy's situation sounded, Mika could not deny he was excited to have someone close to his age in vampire Mountain.

"I thought you'd rise to the challenge." Paris smiled. "He goes by the name "Arrow". But be warned, the loss of his mentor had damaged him, and he may not be interested in friendship right away. Just be there for him if he wants to talk, and leave him alone if he wishes. And please, _please,_ Mika, don't ask too many questions!"

"Don't worry Paris, I'll make sure he's okay here."

The old Vampire Prince put his arm around his beloved student.

"I know you will." Could that be a tear in the old man's eye?

"Now go tidy your room, I'll find a spare coffin and bring Arrow up shortly."

* * *

This one actually wasnt bad, it doesnt really serve a purpose, just outlines little Mika's life, and sets up for Arrow's entry, which is crappily documented in the next chapter, which I dont reccomend you read till after its edited :) if you do read it, EXTREME. MUSH. WARNINGS. but no slash. promise :) just lotsa Bromance!

but seriously, dont judge or review it till AFTER its edited! Please :)

Again, help and advice would be adored!

*Roxxy,


	3. Welcome

Heeeyy so i fixed the last part of this chap and cut the mush by about 70%. I am pleased. Hope you are too! Arrow didn't know what to think as he walked up a set of roughly hewn, hard, cold stone stairs behind an old Vampire Prince known as Paris Skyle. The last few hours had been...painful...to say the least. After barely getting to Vampire Mountain, he'd collapsed of exhaustion once finding his way inside on a combination of sheer luck and instinctually remembering vague directions Faren had described weeks ago. He woke up who knows how many hours later surrounded by Vampires he'd never seen before. They demanded to know who he was, if he was a Vampire, if he'd arrived Vampire Mountain on purpose, how old he was, did he have a mentor? It dragged on and on. And it didn't help that he'd had to re-tell the Vampaneze attack again and again, and the message he'd promised to keep alive. Each time he recited the story, he didn't hear his own voice, rather his beloved mentor and his last words "It is worth it." said Faren determinedly. "WHAT'S WORTH IT? TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" Arrow screamed half scared, half furious. "I would have thought you were smart enough to figure it out. The Vampaneze don't know about you. They won't know you've gone ahead to bring the news." "I still don't understand..." "Charna's guts, Arrow! Do the math." Faren... "Go." said Faren viciously. He's not even letting me say goodbye. Giving himself up... A line of twenty or more Vampaneze soldiers stepped out of the trees to face Faren Dunraven. Their apparent leader was almost six feet tall, with dark purple skin, long black greasy hair, and the reddest eyes of any Vampaneze Arrow had seen. "Rasa." Faren greeted stiffly. "Faren Dunraven. It has been too long." the Vampaneze called Rasa sneered. Mocking his attackers... "Not long enough. I'd almost forgotten your ugly face, but it appears you have deemed it nescessary to jog my memory." Faren noted coldly. Even in the darkest of times, Arrow had to admire his guts. "Kill him." Rasa concluded unceremoniously. His voice sounded immensely bored, as though he ordered bloodthirsty killers on innocent victims every day. And the attack began. Arrow tried to stop the avalance of blood-fresh memories as his only friend had been slaughtered by heartless killers of the night... "GET BACK, HE'S MINE!" The son of the Vampaneze who'd lead the attck. Arrow closed his eyes. And heard Faren's peircing death scream. Even as he followed Paris Skyle through the quiet stone halls, the scream echoed all around, ricocheting off the cold walls, assaulting Arrow again and again. Although Faren had survived the initial death blow, he'd died of his injuries and exhaustion in the eternity of minuites that followed. And every second of it was carved into Arrow's soul forever- "We're here." Paris's voice gently broke the scilence that had been invisibly strangling the young Vampire that accompanied him. "Where's here?" Arrow could barely believe the dull, cold voice belonged to him. "Your bedchamber until you get a bit more settled in, then you can have one to yourself." The Prince smiled and opened the heavy wood door. "What makes you think I'm staying?" Paris seemed not to hear. "Mika?" he called softly. "Right here." answered a young voice from inside. A boy, no older than ten came to the door. He was a cute kid, he'd be a handsome fuly-grown Vampire someday. He carelessly spiky black hair that tumbled into his dark eyes, toned muscles and an easy, relaxed way of moving that suggested he was very comfortable with life inside this huge rock called Vampire Mountain. "Arrow, this is my student, Mika Ver Leth." The named flashed a friendly grin which Arrow did not acknowledge. "He is currently the only underage Vampire in existence, other than yourself. He lives here in Vampire Mountain with me, and he spends many days training in the Hall of Games, or else exploring our beautiful mountain." Beautiful? It's a giant rock. Paris turned to Arrow. "Since you...no longer have a mentor...I will supervise your training, along with Mika's. I am sure both of you will get along and come to appreciate each other's prescence." I don't want to stay here! Arrow could have sworn he saw Paris flash a meaningful look at Mika, and continued: "I have business to attend to regarding the unpleasant news you have brought us, Arrow. I will be in the Hall of Princes for the remainder of the night which will not be accessible to you for the time being, but if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask Mika. I wish you both a good sleep." His tone was professional and polished, but radiated warmth and sincerity Paris left, closing the door and leaving the two young Vampires along together. Arrow said nothing. Just stared into a flickering torch mounted on the wall, hypnotised, willing himself to dissapear into the flames and forget he ever existed. "So..you're Arrow?" Mika broke the scilence. "That was well-figured out." the older Vampire answered cooly. Mika frowned, but said nothing. After another long scilence, he spoke again: "I'm sorry about your mentor." Arrow said nothing. "Must be a horrible way to die..." Mika added quietly. "I know what you're going through-" "SHUT UP!" Arrow screamed, causing Mika to recoil and stare at him in shock. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE! YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO STAND THERE AND WATCH AS YOUR ONLY FRIEND GOT BUTCHERED BY VAMPANEZE! TO FIND THAT HE'S ALIVE AFTERWARDS ONLY TO HAVE HIM DIE IN YOUR ARMS! THEN DRAG YOURSELF INTO THIS GIANT ROCK TO BE ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS AGAIN AND AGAIN WHEN I JUST WANT TO LIE DOWN AND DIE, THEN GET TOLD THAT I HAVE TO STAY HERE AND TRAIN WITH A LITTLE KID AFTER SPENDING YOUR WHOLE LIFE OUTSIDE WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE SKY INSTEAD OF TRAPPED IN A GIANT ROCK! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT'S LIKE!" The outburst left Arrow gasping, and fighting back tears. Mika blinked, then stared long and hard at Arrow, then spoke in a chilly, measured tone, with words chipped from ice: "Alright, a few things. First of all, you're right, I don't know what it's like to be you. I'm not you. Second, how do you know anything about me? I've lost people I love to the Vampaneze as well, how do you think I became a Vampire? I didn't just show up here. Third, for your information, I have been a half-Vampire for two years. And one last thing, Vampire Mountain has been home to great Vampires for centuries. I'd appreciate it if you would stop insulting it." Arrow bit back a retort he was longing to yell at the little brat before him, it was hard to believe he was so young when he spoke so maturely. He suddenly felt very dizzy, and his head hurt like hell. "Where do I sleep?" he mumbled awkwardly. Mika ignored the question and continued, although in a softer voice. "Look, I'm sorry you have to be here, okay? I didn't ask for a room mate." "Where do I sleep?" Arrow half-yelled, losing patience and wanting only to close his eyes and forget he was alive. Mika gestured towards a coffin lying on the ground beside the stone-cold wall, his eyes never leaving Arrow. Arrow set his small bag of posessions -how he managed to keep them, he'd never know- next to the coffin, and lay down inside. The blanket was thin and uncomfortable, but it was the last thing on Arrow's mind. "No...You just survived a battle with twenty Vampaneze! And now you're telling me that this is it? It all ends here? Why?" "Are you okay?"Mika whispered into the darkness. The kindness in his voice made Arrow hurt even more. Desperately blinking back tears, he didn't reply. "Arrow?" Mika said quietly. In the exact same tone Faren always used, with love, kindness, and respect, the tone he used when he knew somethig was troubling his student. "I'm scared." Arrow blurted out. "Don't be. Vampire mountain is...only a hundred miles away. You're almost safe." "I don't care about me." Arrow snapped. "I have to save you, I can't just leave you here, you can't just...There has to be something I can do!" Suddenly he found himself sobbing, cries of grief and agony that shook his whole body as he remembered those last moments. Those moments would never leave him. Wordlessly, Mika Ver Leth stepped out of his coffin, and walked silently to the other side of the cell, and lay down on the comfortingy cool floor beside Arrow's coffin. While it didn't take away the pain of losing someone so close, his small dark presence was enough to make Arrow feel less alone in the world. "You'll feel better tomorrow." Mika promised without a hint of doubt. Whether it was desperation taking over, or the innocent conviction in his voice, Arrow believed him. Broken bones, broken hearts Stripped down and torn apart A little bit of rust - I'm still runnin' Countin' miles, countin' tears Twisted roads, shiftin' gears Year after year - it's all or nothin' But I'm not home, I'm not lost Still holdin' on to what I got Ain't much left No there's so much that's been stolen I guess I've lost everything I've had But I'm not dead, at least not yet Still alone, still alive, Still UNBROKEN I'm still alone, still alive, Still unbroken Ya knooow what to dooooo :) Ohhh and I changed the song lyrics. "Still Unbroken" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. This fic is somewhat based on that song. Love it :) *Roxxy, 


	4. Stay

Oh wow. first real update to this story in...well over a year! I've been working on and off this chapter for months and im actually pleased with it. Really, I think thats all I have to say at the moment.

Enjoy, finally!

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Several hours after breaking down, sleep still eluded Arrow. He didn't even know if he wanted to sleep. He knew perfectly well that sleep would bring to life dreams and flashbacks of the previous night's slaughter, even when he was awake, they clawed persistently at his already battered conscience. If he slept, he'd be tortured. If he stayed awake, he'd be tortured.

For a moment, he tuned out his brain's actions and listened to his surroundings. He could hear his newest aquaintance, Mika Ver Leth, breathing softly, clearly in a deep sleep. Arrow smiled despite his pain. The young Vampire was sharp, intelligent, and compassionate for his age. He allowed himself to drift off shortly after he thought Arrow had, while the older boy had simply fallen silent rather than asleep. Mika was currently stretched out on the hard stone floor beside Arrow's coffin. The stoney room had an uncomfortable chill; Arrow laid his own blanket over Mika's small back. He wouldn't need it anyway. The cold was just a minor physical distraction, and he welcomed its numbing effect on his weary body.

He debated waking Mika and apoligizing for his furious outburst earlier. He had been overwhelmed with fatigue and grief, but he could have tried harder to keep his temper in check. Mika was simply being hospitable and inquisitive, he hadn't deserved such thoughtless verbal abuse. But an apology could wait till morning, Arrow decided, lying back down. Unwillingly, his thoughts plunged from memory to memory, some made him want to cry, others to laugh, as he his mentor's face burned into the back of his eyelids again and again and again.

Suddenly the confines of the coffin were suffocating him. No matter how he moved, some part of him was constantly touching the sides. He couldn't even imagine putting the lid on. He couldn't stretch, turn, roll over. Hell, he could barely breathe! Whoever said Vampires are meant to sleep in coffins clearly had never experienced the peace and freedom of lying on the cool, untouched outdoor ground, blanketed only by fresh air. Sighing in exhaustion and frustration, he climbed out of the wooden prison and stretched out on the hard stone ground on the opposite side as Mika, taking only a pillow from the coffin. With the cool floor soothing his body, he imagined he was back outside in the wilderness with his mentor, until...until...

Day 1

"Arrow..._Arrow_..._HEY!_"

"Whuhappened?" grunted the older boy, rolling over to look up at the culprit who dared poke him awake from such a good sleep. It felt like an ungodly hour to be up, maybe Faren was making him go on one of those dreadful late-night hunting trips...

But the face staring down at him was not his mentor's. Arrow recoiled in suprise at the small darkhaired intruder, and his elbow collided painfully against something hard... and he realised he sleeping beside... a _coffin_? What could he possibly-

And then every memory from the previous day hit him like an avalance. It must have showed on his face, because Mika cringed sympathetically.

"So that wasn't a dream." Arrow croaked, lying back down and staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. "My mentor has really been chopped up by Vampaneze, I'm really living inside a rock now, and you're really there staring at me."

"I'm sorry I'm real." Mika offered cautiously.

"Not your fault." Arrow grunted, closing his eyes against the tears that threatened again.

"You'll feel better if you come eat something." Mika informed him earnestly. "There's lots of food in the Hall of Khledon Lurt. But I just call it the Hall of Breakfast 'cause couldn't pronounce Khledon when I was little..."

Arrow mumbled something inaudible. Getting up was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Come on, get up. Your mentor wouldn't want this for you." Mika added more agressively.

Arrow drew breath to snarl at the child who dared speak about what Faren would have wanted, but he realised the boy's words were completely true. Faren would be ashamed to see his student lying in a coffin wishing to fade away. Faren would drag him to his feet, and kick his ass down to the Hall of Breakfast.

Despite Arrow's shattered state of mind, he couldn't help be interested in the goings-on of Vampire mountain. Around every turn, there were new faces doing and saying all manners of fascinating things. They seemed to be muttering darkly about war, battle, Vampaneze, and official business in general. None seemed to be cheerful, although all of them gazed curiously at Arrow as he passed.

"Do you know _all _of these Vampires?" Arrow asked as he sat with Mika at a long, rough-hewn table in the Hall of Breakfast, observing groups of strangers coming and going.

"They're mostly Generals. I've met some of them, but the only Vampires I really know well are Paris, Seba, Vanez, Ronan, and Arian."

"Who are they?"

"Well you met Paris, Ronan and Arian. They're Princes."

"Right." He recalled three older and very authorative Vampires interrogating him about the Vampaneze attack, but he hadn't absorbed their names at the time.

"Paris is my mentor. He's the nicest and smartest Vampire I know." Mika added matter-of-factly. "He'll be your mentor too, and you'll learn all the stuff he's taught me. Which is a lot." the child grinned proudly and continued. "Ronan is nice too, he's not around very often because he leads an army that goes around dealing with Vampaneze problems, and fighting battles, and tracking down mad Vampires and Vampaneze, and stuff like that."

_Vamaneze. _Just the word made Arrow's blood boil. But he kept his temper in check and Mika kept talking.

"And then there's Arian. Don't ever make him mad. He's cranky and he never smiles, I don't know why. I think he hates everyone. And he definitley doesn't like me. But that's OK, because I don't like him either." Mika whispered controversially.

"Yeah, I remember him." Arrow grunted. The bastard had continued to push for information long after Paris and Ronan had given him a break. And he didn't hesitate to use shock treatment to extract every bloody detail from Arrow's memory. "Who were the other two?"

"Seba and Vanez. Seba's our Quartermaster. He organizes stuff, and manages supplies. He's almost as old as Paris, and he knows a lot of stuff that's kinda interesting, as you don't get him rambling on something dumb, like history. And Vanez is the Games Master, so he manages the Hall of Games and teaches fighting stuff like swordplay, unarmed combat, kickboxing, and how to use weapons. Swordfighting's my favourite." Mika finished with a hint of battle-lust in his young eyes.

"I'd like to meet him." Arrow noted distractedly. His thoughts kept turning back to the Vampaneze... How he'd love to meet Faren's killers in a few years, when he was a fully-grown battle expert.

"You'll meet everyone." Mika promised, sipping bat broth. "The Mountain's not usually this crowded, but Paris said there's rumours that the Vampaneze are planning an attack, so everyone's here talking about it and getting ready."

"Because of the message I brought for the Princes?"

"Well, we knew they've been planning an attack for a long time, but we didn't know they had a way of getting in to the Mountain. We thought they were planning an ambush out there somewhere, but they'll come in here if they can."

That had been Faren's message: _Vampire Mountain is not the stronghold you believe it is. They've found a weak spot. They're coming, and they'll take us down this time._

The message had been top secret, any leakage would mean an outrage among the Vampires, maybe even a pre-emptive strike which would bring nothing but complications and future war.

Arrow shivered in suspense.

"How could they get in?"

"I have no idea." said Mika darkly. "I guess your mentor didn't know either. They might have found a natural entrance and they're waiting for the right time to strike, they might have contacts within the mountain, or they've found a traitor Vampire who'll lead 'em right in."

"Why do they want to attack?" Arrow asked in disgust.

"I don't really know for sure." Mika admitted unhappily. "Paris doesn't tell me all the details. But from what I pick up, I think they're after the Stone of Blood."

"But nobody but a Prince can get to it, right? The Hall's protected, Faren told me."

"I guess they think if they get in the Mountain, they can get to the stone. But even if they never see the inside of the Hall of Princes, they could still destroy us if they got in here. Paris says the Stone of Blood is useless to us unless we're here to give it life. But I don't really know what that means..."

"Right." said Arrow miserably. Life was just getting better and better.

"But Paris always tells me not to worry about that stuff." Mika added, seeing the dark look on the other's face. "Come on, let's go see him."

"How the hell are we supposed to get in?" Arrow inquired as he and Mika reached the firmly closed door to the Hall of Princes.

"Some days I have to yell, but the Princes will be coming and going all day today. One of them will come in or out sooner or later."

Then two figures appeared out of a nearby passageway, as if on cue. Both were tall and muscular men who carried themselves with regal authority. The one on the left was tall and athletic-looking, middle-aged, with auburn hair and intelligent eyes. The other was the wider of the two, he had spiky black hair, and eyes darker than death that radiated anger and bloodlust.

"Those are Ronan and Arian." Mika informed Arrow in an undertone. "Arian's the one that looks like he wants to kill you."

"I remember him from last night." Arrow muttered. "Does he ever stop being evil?"

Mika chuckled.

"Nah."

"Good day, Mika, Arrow." said Ronan politely as he neared the two boys. "Again, I am deeply sorry for your loss, but I hope you are finding Vampire Mountain comfortable and interesting."

Arrow shrugged.

"I prefer being outside. Sire." he added quickly.

"Ah, you're just like me, I can tell. You live to hunt and fight, I can see it in your eyes and in the way you move. You could make a legendary killer, with the right training. " Ronan commented with a smile. Then his face darkened. "We could always use one more strong arm when we go into battle with the Vampaneze, as you know."

"Thank you, sire." Arrow replied cautiously, deciding to take this as a compliment.

"Honestly Ronan. He hasn't even been here two full days and you're already filling his head with revenge fantasies? We lose good and decent men to those purple bastards all the time, it's a fact of life."Arian snapped suddenly.

_I hate you._

Arrow didn't even intend to think the words, they instinctually branded themselves into his emotions, uninvited but as true as they could be.

"And Mika, if you want to talk to Paris, be damn fast about it. We have very important business to attend to, and we do not need children underfoot." Arian added coldly.

Mika nodded politely, but Arrow could clearly see the beginnings of a sarcastic smirk on the boy's face.

Ronan arched a thick eyebrow and laid his right hand on the panel that granted acess into the Hall.

"Arian, surely you do not stil see Mika as a bothersome child. He is as good a Vampire as any I know." he then turned to Arrow. "Don't mind Arian, he is a brave and honourable Vampire, just a little blunt at times."

_Blunt? More like, complete asshole._

Arrow nodded as he followed the Princes in to the Hall.

"And if he said anything last night that hurt or insulted you, do not take it personally. This is a stressful time for all of us. However, Paris and I personally apologize for his attitude." Ronan added in an undertone.

"No hard feelings, Sire." Arrow grunted, shoving back the memories from the previous night.

The Hall of Princes was longer than Arrow expected, and much colder. The room itself gave off an unwelcoming aura, and the feeling of being uncomfortably far from the earth. The chamber was far from empty, there were many long benches set before the thrones of the Princes, apparently to serve as a resting place for those who came on official business, mainly Generals, some accompanied by guards and warriors. All of them looked up as Arrow, Mika, Ronan, and Arian stepped in the room. After bowing respectfully to the princes, all eyes fell on Arrow. Some looked sympathetic, others looked curious, but most were a mixture of disinterest and unwelcome.

_They're testing me. _Arrow realised with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. The weak, grieving part of him wanted to look down at his feet and shamefully absorb the unfriendly stares, but Faren had taught him so much better than that. So his mentor's courage prevailed, and he returned every last glare with a steeley gaze of his own, tempered by years of discipline, until he stood face-to-face with Paris Skyle.

"Ah, good evening young Arrow. How was your sleep?" the old Prince greeted in a casual manner, as his sharp eyes searched Arrow for signs of continued trauma.

"Fine, thank you Sire." Arrow lied politely.

"Have you remembered anything else at all from, ah, your experience with the Vampaneze.

"_No!_" the word must have shot out with more vengance than he intended, because Arian gave him a death glare, and muttered something about insolence. Paris raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"I'm done reliving that night." he added flatly.

"Understandable." Paris murmured.

"But if anything at all comes back to you, you know where to find us." Arian declared. "Even the smallest detail could help us take those bastards down."

"Arian, there's more to life than _'taking those bastards down.'_" Ronan chided. "Violence can destroy your mind before your body is ever touched."

Arian rolled his eyes and gave his fellow a look of pure disgust.

"Says the master of the Vampire Armies?"

"Aye." Ronan stated confidently. "You can slaughter as many Vampaneze as you like within the confines of your brain, but it won't do a bit of good when you have to face them in the real world."

"You're speaking as if I've never fought one in my life!" Arian snarled, a childlike tone creeping into his voice. "How many battles have we won off the blade of _MY _sword?"

"Gentlemen, please." Paris interrupted. "Arrow, I would to take the time to get to know you better, and there is much for me to teach you, but now is not the time as you can see." his eyes browsed over the wide room, appearing to be at ease, but clearly taking in every detail. They eventually landed back on Arrow. "How much do you know about the goings-on of Vampire Mountain?"

Arrow called back a recent conversation with Faren. The memory hurt, but comforted him at the same time.

"Faren told me about it... it's basically the Headquarters for the whole clan...at least one Prince always has to be in, and one always has to be out, just in case...Generals come and go, and discuss war stuff, laws, regulations...Council is held every 12 years...the Trials of Death are held here too...the Stone of Blood is right behind the thrones, it holds blood of almost every Vampire on the earth, so you can track them...and if the Vampaneze get it-"

"Alright." Paris interjected suddenly. "You have been well-informed."

"Faren taught me everything."

"I know he did, he was an excellent and honourable Vampire. I knew him reasonably well, and I have no doubt he would want you to continue your traning here, rather than run off back into the wilderness on a revenge mission and meet the same fate as him. Although the choice is yours as I cannot force you to remain here against your will, I ask you take into careful consideration what your mentor would want for you."

Arrow looked at his feet. He'd just been preparing to thank Paris for the hospitality and inform him he would not be staying, but something in the Prince's eyes gave him the impression that to leave now would be disonourable. To himself and to his mentor.

He heard small feet shuffle beside him, and he could feel Mika's dark soulful eyes blazing into him. Arrow breathed an inaudible sigh. Not even 2 days inside this rock and he already had a little brother. But that didn't change the fact that he was _in here_...

_RUN! _the volatile, raw and grieving part of his heart screamed.

_Stay._ pleaded the broken and lonely side that yearned for a family, a home.

_Faren would want you to track down the bastards that did this to him! To you!_

_Revenge can wait. You need to be here._

Arrow gritted his teeth as the battle raged inside him. Paris studied him calmly. Mika looked half-worried and half-hopeful.

_Run._

_Stay._

_RUN!_

_STAY!_

"Arrow?"

"I'll stay. For a while. 'Till I'm ready." he blurted out. He coulsn't believe the distant and alien voice was his own.

Paris nodded approvingly. "Faren would be so proud." he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Arrow nodded stiffly, head aching. He heard Mika expel a sigh of relief, as well as Arian let out a bored yawn. Ronan grinned and gave him the thumbs-up.

"Mika, please show Arrow around the Hall of Games, and introduce him to Vanez." Paris continued with a detached smile. "I will see both of you tonight. Have a pleasant day."

"Alright Paris!" said Mika with above-average enthusiasm. "Bye!"

As the two young Vampires walked quickly out of the hall, Mika bumped his arm against Arrow's in a playfully affectionate manner, and the older boy couldn't help but feel he'd made a good decision.

Revenge would come.

Oh, it would come.

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Hope that wasnt toooo crappy. It's hard to write them as kids! And Im hoping I have the timing right with all their ages and occupations etc. I wanted to leave Vanez, Seba, and Paris in their DSS roles A) because i always got a Happy Family-ish feeling from the Vampire Mountain books, and B) because I really can't stand OC's, mine or anyone else's and I dont create them unless absolutely necessary.

Annyway, REVIEW. PLEASE. Im continuing writing this thing purely out of love for Arrow and I'd love some more love :)

And how awesome is the mobile version of ? i was reading TVF on my phone in class today...got some giggles outta that, yes i did.

PS, other stuff will soon be updated! I hate working on 4 things at once but it's all coming. Vampires Gone Wild will likely be completed before that Contest-Turned-Summer-Story thing is continued. Annnyway.

First horse show went great incase anyone cares...they eat up tons of my writing time but are soo worth it when I win all kinds of shit :) Got another one next weekend...usually I can channel my energy into TVF which is a good thing.

K imma shut up now, Revieeww babes!

*Roxxy,


	5. Crash

Wow, look what's updated! It took me forever just to START this, I knew how I wanted it to begin, but I couldnt get it right for MONTHS. The beginning is still not to my satisfaction, but I just wanna keep this story moving.

Anyway, nothing else to report. I save the self-advertisements for the end note, SO read on :)

* * *

It never took Vanez more than a week to fully analyze a student. To observe how they behaved in a fight, whether they predominatly attacked versus defended, or vice versa, or if they balanced both. Whether they fought to kill, to injure, to humiliate, to dominate, to prove something, or to satisfy a personal need for justice, vengeance, honour, heroism, the list of Vampiric traits went on. Vanez also took into account how they communicated, how they behaved in a group. How much they contributed, how much they took, whether they spoke impulsively or carefully guarded their tongue. Did they hide their true feelings beneath a mask of false emotion? If so, what kind? And there were those that left nothing up to the imagination, and bared everything for all to see.

Vanez knew the two extremes, and he also knew the thousands of intricute combinations that could occur between these extremes. Solid black or white was rare, but it happened. Vanez had been doing this for more years than he cared to remember, he could figure out what shade of gray you were with just a few quick glances into your life.

DAY 3

"Well, for starters, he's tough as nails, and completely fearless. Anyone could tell you that. He fights roughly and without regard for his own safety, he over-attacks to the point where he lets his guard down. His basic training is solid, but he needs some fine-tuning. Someday he'll be able to mow straight through a line of the fiercest Vampaneze and emerge without a scratch, I have no doubt."

"Good, good." Paris muttered, deep in thought as he sipped a mug of warm blood. "And how is he faring on the inside?"

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out.' Vanez admitted. "Not even 3 days here, and it's as if he suddenly forgot to grieve-"

"I highly doubt he's forgotten." Paris interjected.

"Well then he's pushed everything into the back of his mind, which is not a good place for it. It's deadly to bottle up something like that."

"Indeed." said Paris distractedly, re-filling his mug.

"But he's an excellent Vampire, Faren made sure of that." Vanez added with a smile. "He's polite-mostly. He doesn't talk unless he has something to say. He's smart and willing to learn. He follows the rules-usually. And he's honest to the point of being painfully blunt."

Paris indulged himself in a chuckle at that.

"He and Mika have bonded already, it's quite incredible. They must have spent at least 24 hours in the Hall of Games so far, I'm suprise they haven't speared each other yet." Vanez continued.

"Mika has wanted a brother for as long as I've known him." Paris noted. Vanez nodded in agreement and filled a mug for himself.

"Thank you, Vanez." Paris added with an air of conclusion. "Excellent early assessment."

"Merely doing my job, Sire. I will keep you posted if anything changes." the Games Master said politely, bowing slightly as he exited the chamber.

###

"What do you think it _is_?"

"I've never seen one before in my life."

"It looks like fun." Arrow decided, picking up the strange object. It was a thick, sturdy, slightly gnarled, curved plank of wood with a design painted on it in dark red. But that wasn't the interesting part - what intrigued him was the fact that there was a strong silver blade embedded into each end so they stuck out like wide and deadly knives.

It had been Mika's idea to pry open the ancient and smelly crate they'd discovered in the back corner of the weaponry. Inside was a manner of strange and lethal assault weapons that looked like they hadn't been used in centuries.

"I like this one." Mika snickered, pulling out a mace and swinging it playfully, narrowly missing his own head.

"What do you _do _with it?" Arrow pondered about the object in his hands. "Do you just kinda-" he swung it outwards experimentally. It felt heavy and awkward, "-hit people with it?"

"Oooh, I think I remember Seba and Vanez talking about those." Mika gasped. "They used to be really popular in some other country...you throw them, I think."

Arrow shrugged, and tossed it casually with his right hand. As it spun through the air, thing made a steely swooshing noise that gave him goosebumps. He watched it appreciatevely for a moment, then recieved the shock of his life as the thing made turned in the air, seemingly of its own accord, and made a beeline right back at him. Arrow lunged for Mika, shoved him to the floor, then dropped beside him and got as flat as possible. The thing whirred less that a foot above their backs, then slammed into the wall and fell with a terrifying metallic clatter.

The boys got to their feet simultaneously and cautiously approached the thing.

"Don't ever touch it again." Mika hissed.

Arrow, however, was enthralled. It must be posessed by some freaky old magic or something.

"What country did you say these things came from?"

DAY 4

It was called a boomerang, Vanez informed Arrow over breakfast the next day. It returned to the thrower because of contours, flexibity, design, and a few other things that Arrow didn't understand. It was from Australia, an ancient clan of indigenous Vampires had taken the idea from watching humans fling them around, and developed them as weapons by adding lethal blades to their versions.

Vanez also said (sounding like an older Mika), "Do _not _throw it again under _any _circumstances. Those things have decapitated wiser Vampires than yourself."

Naturally, Arrow envisioned himself in a hundred years, scarred and battle-hardened, crashing into the middle of a fight, whipping his boomerang and watching the Vampaneze scatter in terror, screaming for their mothers.

"Well, can you show me how to use it?"

Vanez chuckled. "I have no idea how to use the damnable things. I'd probably lose an arm or two."

"Nothing risked, nothing gained." said Mika wisely.

Vanez rolled his eyes at the young Vampire. "You listen to me way too much. And I thought you were on my side, eh? Do you _want _to get chopped in half?"

Mika arched a dark eyebrow and said,

"Arrow, hurry up. I wanna go on the bars today, but I can't get up there by myself."

"I've been meaning to try those!" the elder agreed keenly.

"Not today, boys." Vanez interrupted. "I'm going to be training Yebba in there all day, he's got his Trials coming up and the idiot hasn't a clue what he's getting into. Seba has some tasks for you in the storage cavern."

"Charna's butt!" Mika moaned, slamming his forhead onto the table in a mock display of suffering.

"That's _guts_, Mika." Vanez snapped back, pulling his young friend's head up off the table. "If you're going to curse, do it properly."

Arrow suddenly found himseld laughing, truly laughing, for the first time in days. It felt weird...but _good_.

He hoped it would happen again.

###

Arrow sneezed mightily, the force of it sending up a cloud of dust from the gigantic bag of flour he was toting.

"Mika, you missed a spot." he huffed.

"Because you took it from the pile I haven't cleaned yet, imbecile!" Mika groaned.

"There's just one pile."

"No! There's two! See look- wait a minute, there used to be two piles. What did you _do_?"

3 and a half hours of this. Seba had ordered this particular storage cavern -a medium-sized room on the lower west side of the Mountain- to be fully cleared of all items. One wall was lined by stacks of bags, some holding flour, others holding salt, or ground-up corn, each labelled accordingly. Mika's task was to wipe years worth of dust off the bags so the labels were visible, then Arrow pulled the bags over to the doorway where he sorted them into piles. Once piled, more of Seba's assistants took the bags to other rooms.

Arrow's task was strenuous, demanding, and exhausting. He loved it.

Not the repetitive, dusty, pointless part, that could be done without. But the familliar stiff ache in his shoulders brought him back to long days in the forest with Faren, whether climbing rocks or moving logs. In fact, he felt like he was about 3 years younger, on an isolated rocky plateau with his mentor. A deadly snowstorm was oncoming, and the windchill would cause the temperature to drop beyond even Vampiric endurance. Together, they constructed a shelter out of the most heavy-duty logs they could find, to lean against a rock face. It turned out to be so comfortable that they'd spent 2 weeks in it, hunting deer exclusively.

Arrow burrowed so far into the memory that the dust before him became snowflakes, and as he reached downward he strongly anticipated the feeling of rough bark on his hands, and the scrape of wood on stone as he picked up the log- the sudden texture of a bag of flower slammed him back to reality with such force that he flinched.

Mika glanced up for a second, studied him with a curious expression, then went back to dusting and expelling dust from his nose with frequent snuffles.

Arrow felt a rush of guilt as he realized he'd barely thought of Faren in the last 4 days. Sure the attack still tortured his dreams, but this wasn't the same as thinking about Faren himself, all the years they'd spent together, all he'd learned from him, the memories, his mentor's funny grin that made him look like he had fangs...

Then he thought of the purple-skinned fiends, out there hiding who-knows-where, gloating over their believed victory.

Finally, his tired mind landed on the arsenal of weapons within this very mountain. The odd device known as the Boomerang stood out more boldly than the others in his mind's eye.

_I'll get them. I swear._

He slammed the bag of cracked corn down on top of the others with so much force that Mika dropped his dust rag in alarm.

DAY 5

"This might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen anyone do. And I've seen a lot of dumb stuff." Mika announced as he combed the weaponry in search of a helmet with a face guard to match his gigantic shield.

"So why are you watching?" Arrow demanded impatiently, standing outside the weaponry, running his thumb over the blade of the boomerang- he'd just sharpened it. Vanez was busy again today, the Hall of Games was deserted, and Arrow was itching to figure out how to work the boomerang.

"Because it's the dumbest thing I've ever seen anyone do!" Mika replied eagerly, emerging wearing full body armour -about 5 times too big for his small frame, dragging a shield -taller than he was, and of course a gigantic battle helmet with a raised visor that all but restricted his vision. He looked like he was preparing for the end of the world.

"Where should I stand?" Mika inquired.

"Beside me?" Arrow suggested.

Mika yelped. "What if you miss catching it?"

"Okay then... how about over there?"

"But you don't know how to aim!"

"Um, behind me?"

"That's right by where it hit the wall last time!"

"I dunno, if you see it coming at you, just run!"

"I like that plan." Mika declared, slamming down the visor on his helmet.

Arrow took a moment to decide whether or not he should make a dash back to the weaponry and find some better armour for himself, as he was only wearing a thick leather guard around each forearm. However, his impatience got the better of him, and he simply flung the boomerang with all his might.

It went on the same angle as it had 2 days previous, but travelling at least twice the speed. Mika gasped in awe. Then the thing whipped sharply into a turn, and came sailing straight for its thrower.

Mika bolted for the door, armour clanking loud enough to wake the entire Mountain. For a moment, Arrow nearly followed him, but a sudden gut feeling transported him backwards through his life, to a moment where he wrestled his first grizzly bear. The thing was bearing down on him, teeth bared, claws ready to rip flesh from his bones. And he heard his mentor's voice in his ear, deep and slow:

_"Hold your ground. Don't ever run. Fight. FIGHT!"_

The boomerang whipped closer...closer...

Arrow plotted its course, considered where and when to grab it, it was 3 feet away, now 2...

He reached upwards...

And heard the leather of his arm guard ripping, or was it his flesh? There was less than a second's pause where he realised he'd missed the boomerang, then he heard it slam roughly to the floor at the exact same time his right forearm let loose a spectacular geyser of blood.

One more second, and the pain hit him. He heard Mika screaming in horror, or was it himself? He crumbled to the ground, clutching his torn arm. He couldn't tell whether he was screaming, sobbing, hyperventilating, or doing all at once. The pain, as bad as it was, wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the sight of all that blood on the floor, and on him, on the boomerang that lay 10 feet away, looking perfectly benign.

Lying on his side shaking, he heard Mika's voice hammering into his ear;

"Are you okay? OH MY GODS, YOU'RE BLEEDING! Does it hurt? Can you stand? You gotta go show Paris! You should really put a bandage on that. It looks real deep, the bone's not broken, is it? Vanez TOLD you not to mess with the boomerangs you big idiot! You gotta get up! You can walk, right?"

"Shut up! I dunno!" Arrow groaned painfully, trying and failing to sit up.

"What are you talking about? It's just your arm, of course you can walk!" Mika snapped back impatiently, latching onto his un-injured arm and pulling with all his might. As Arrow got onto his feet, he looked around blearily and shook his head slightly, trying to clear his blurring vision. This did not help in the slightest, then his eyes fell upon the rapidly spreading puddle of blood on the floor, on his feet, legs, chest, hands... how was there so much of it? How was there any still inside his body?

And he remembered nothing else after that.

* * *

Ouch.

Anyway, I'll be moving quickly with this story now that Arrow's fairly established in VM, i'm getting tired of writing them as kiddies. It was cute for a while, but this story is like 2 years old now, SO.

Usual notes:

Check out/enter me and StayBeautiful1's CHRISTMAS CONTEST.

TVF and Onyx updation in near future (actually.)

OH, and PLEASE, for the luvva God, REVIEW. I've gotten out of the habit of grovelling for reviews this year because they run so bountifully for TVF. This story may not be as good or as entertaining, but it's extremely important to me myself and I because I adore this character, so please take that into consideration and leave me a note!

For all those people that sub/favourited, thats's awesome and I appreciate it, but could you please take a few minutes and send a review along with it? That would make my day like you wouldnt believe!

xoxo

*Roxxy,


	6. Snow

Ow wow wow, I didn't think this would get updated so soon! Proud of myself? Yep! I started this on like, Tuesday night, worked bit by bit through the week, wrote a monstrous chunk when I was stranded in my mom's office and my laptop wouldn't connect to the internet there, so I was totally distraction free for about 2 hours!

And today I'm having myself a little holiday from school so I wrote the final bit right after I woke up!

This chapter isn't extremely awesome, more of a filler, but Im mostly satisfied with it :)

I think thats all there is to say, enjoy!

* * *

DAY 6

"I told you, dumbest thing I've ever seen! Do you agree yet? Or do you want to stuff a few more spider-webs in it?" Mika chastised as he and Arrow walked back to their chamber.

"Mika, if you say that one more time, I swear to the gods..." Arrow let the threat hang unfinished as he observed his right arm. The forearm was tightly bandaged, with a faint pink stain where blood had seeped through. The whole incident was hazy, he could recall everything up to the moment where he flung the Boomerang. He remembered the pain, and the sheer quantities of blood... then he blacked out until the moment his consciousness flared and the first thing he saw was Seba working furiously on his arm, and Vanez, Mika and Paris gathered around his cot. The cut was bone-deep and ran from his wrist nearly to his elbow. It was currently stuffed with Seba's special spider-webs, which supposedly prevented infection, but in Arrow's opinion they were being used to teach him a lesson; they stung like salt in an open wound. He'd been lucky though. If he'd been treated any later he would have bled to death, a major artery had been completely severed and he was in danger of bleeding to death, as he'd been told multiple times. Sure, Seba said he'd seen plenty worse but he still had to spend a day in Vampire Mountain's makeshift infirmary. He had just been given the OK to get up and walk around, despite the fact that he'd felt perfectly fine and only slightly sore after a good, long sleep.

He wasn't going to share this fact any time soon, but he longed to try the boomerang again.

"Soooo, how are you feeling?" Mika asked abruptly, in a tone that indicated he was ready for some serious prying.

"Well, my whole arm is throbbing and the cut stings like a son of a werewolf, but it's not too bad."

"I wasn't talking about your arm." said Mika, sounding like Arrow's answer was exactly what he'd been expecting. "How are _you_ doing?"

Arrow's guard went up immediately.

"Did Paris put you up to this?" he snapped, instantly regretting the words.

Mika's face fell.

"Well, he's wondering, but I wanna know too... we care about you..." he sadly mumbled his way into silence.

Arrow wanted to give Mika a hug, or a pat on the back, something kind and comforting. Instead he observed his own feet.

"I'm fine, really." he stated finally. But the words were hollow.

He wasn't fine. He'd spent his entire life almost exclusively in the care and companionship of one single person who'd been a father, brother, teacher, and friend all at once. And then one night he watched helplessly as that person was destroyed. His heart refused to leave that moment behind, and his brain would never ever give up on conjuring ways in which he could have changed the outcome; he could have joined the fight, maybe taken down a few extra Vampaneze. Hell, maybe they would have won. Or more likely go down in a blaze of glory beside his mentor. At the very least, maybe he could have messed around with some damn healing berries or something, worked some natural medicine magic or something, helped Faren to Vampire Mountain, and here they'd all be. And if even that option wasn't plausible, he could have at least pursued the Vampaneze and destroyed them. He may not have had a chance in hell, but he had no doubt in his mind that the fuel of rage and grief would have been enough to at least finish the monster who dealt Faren a death blow. Then die heroically once his vengeance was complete. Of course that would have allowed the message for the Princes to die with him, but at least he wouldn't be living under a glacier of sorrow...

Arrow belatedly realized that getting lost in his thoughts had caused him to adopt the facial expression of a corpse. Mika noticed. Arrow forced the fakest smile in history.

"I'm really doing fine. Promise."

If Mika was as skeptical as his expression implied, he didn't comment. The pair continued their trek down the chilly hall.

DAY 7

"WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!"

This wake up call marked the first time in a week that Arrow hadn't woke up wondering where he was, what had happened, and why he was in a coffin. This was always followed by a shot of pain as he suddenly recalled _everything_.

But not today. From the moment Mika yelled and mightily kicked the side of his friend's coffin, Arrow didn't get a chance to travel 7 days back in time. From the moment he snapped open his eyes, he was completely immersed in Vampire Mountain.

"So you've been here exactly one week, give or take a few hours." Mika informed him in case he didn't already know.

"That's true." Arrow agreed sleepily as they made their way down to the Hall of Breakfast. He extended his injured arm and observed it. It looked less swollen than yesterday, although the bandages had become loosened while he slept, so it was hard to tell. The stinging was all but gone, and the pain wasn't as bad. He had to admit, he'd even impressed himself. Thousands of days in the wilderness had made his immune system almost indestructible, and he'd become excellent at blocking out both pain and exhaustion. All Vampires heal incredibly fast, and Arrow was a prime example.

"Guess what we get to do today." Mika chriped with a smug expression as if he was the exclusive holder of some spectacular secret.

"Get my bandages changed and sit around like an old man with a useless arm?" Arrow suggested. As much as it had improved, the injury was only a little more than a day old, and movement was difficult and painful.

"Noo." said Mika impatiently. "We're going outside!"

Arrow's heart lurched. He hadn't realized until now how much he craved the sharpness of fresh air in his lungs.

"Why?"

"Vanez is taking us. We're learning tracking or hunting or something. I dunno what. Hurry up, I wanna goooooo!" he finished with a long whine.

Arrow chuckled. As impossibly mature Mika was for his age, he still affected childishness when excited.

"Why do we need to be escorted outside?" Arrow inquired.

"Well, we never know what's out there these days." Mika answered unspecifically.

"You mean, because of the message I delivered?"

"Yeah, I guess. Don't blame yourself, everyone's just glad they know about it. Arian's talking about a pre-emptive strike. Ronan thinks we should just keep our army at the ready and expect and prepare for the worst."

Arrow snorted.

"How do you know all that?"

"You slept for a really long time the other day."

"Losing half your blood supply kinda has that effect." Arrow replied lightly.

Mika giggled into his bat broth.

* * *

"When did it SNOW?" Arrow gasped, quite a bit louder than he intended. Vanez rolled his eyes.

"It snows every year, young Arrow. You stop noticing after a while." Vanez replied gruffly but not unkindly.

In the week's chaos, Arrow had forgotten about the seasons. For some reason, Faren always seemed to know what month it was although most Vampires don't bother keeping track of such things. About a week prior to the attack, he casually informed Arrow -who had brushed it off at the time- that it was now December.

Arrow remembered the first time he really experienced snow. They were passing through a village, and the laughter, children playing, especially the yummy smells of food baking in houses had given a 6-year-old Arrow an inexplicable sense of happiness. Faren told him about "Christmas", a widely celebrated human tradition. The older Vampire dismissed the holiday as a foolish frivolity, but the concept fascinated Arrow and he couldn't figure out why Vampires never wanted to have any fun! Faren patiently explained that the Festival of the Undead was like a sort of Vampiric Christmas, but Arrow refused to buy it. Seeing his student's visible excitement, Faren caught and roasted a wild turkey -it was delicious- and they celebrated the holiday with their very own small Christmas feast.

Flash forward to present. Arrow kicked the snow at his feet, hoping it was just the cold air that was stinging his eyes. Why did every little thing trigger cascades of memories? Would he spend the rest of his life flashing back to his youth with every hint of deja-vu?

Not as long as Mika was around, it seemed.

"Hurry up, you walk so _slow_!" he huffed, several paces ahead of Arrow and Vanez.

"You know, we don't have a particular destination in mind." Vanez grumbled.

"What are we doing out here anyway?" asked Arrow.

"I figured you'd like an outing." said Vanez with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Also there is much we can learn from nature, especially when we take full advantage of the senses we have been gifted with. For example, there is about 4 deer eating saplings about 300 yards west of us, any guesses as to how I figured that out?"

Arrow opened his mouth to say, "You can hear them moving, smell their droppings, and smell the saplings because they only release the sap scent when broken." This wasn't new, Faren had taught him everything.

But before he could get out a single word, he heard a _whoosh, _and a _pcchhhh _at the exact same time a massive chunk of snow smashed into his face.

"Grrrrarrrgggghh!" Arrow spluttered, spitting out ice and whipping the snow out of his eyes to see Mika standing about 15 feet away, holding a snowball, preparing for a second assault.

"Really, Mika? Really? How old are you?" Vanez grumbled.

"Not that old." Mika shrugged, whipping the second snowball. Vanez caught it in his fist. Well, partially anyway. Mostly it just exploded.

"Very well, enjoy your shenanigans. I'm going to...investigate a few things. DO NOT wander far, if you see anything that looks off, report it to me. I'll come find you when I'm done." He instructed with finality before stalking off.

"'Anything that looks off, report to him'? I don't think we're out here for educational purposes. He's looking for something." Arrow puzzled, staring at Vanez's retreating figure.

"Probably traces of the Vampaneze." Mika noted casually.

Arrow swung his head around so fast it hurt.

"WHAT?" he hissed. "They might be near the Mountain?"

Fury bubbled up inside him like lava beneath a caldera volcano.

"They won't be anywhere near us." Mika replied calmly. "If they were within attacking range, Vanez would have known the moment we stepped outside."

Arrow's mind raced.

"That's impossible."

"I used to think so too, but it's not. You just have to know how to sense it."

"What if he's wrong? What if they're watching us?"

Mika snorted derisively.

"If they were close enough to see us, even _you'd_ be able to tell."

Arrow recalled the greasy meaty stench of them.

"I guess."

Mika responded by flinging a third snowball. Arrow dodged it this time, then lunged to grab his own ammunition. It wasn't easy to make a respectable snowball with one useless arm, but Mika watched patiently and pityingly. Finally, Arrow was able to send his young friend staggering backwards with a semi-powerful blow to the shoulder. (His left hand's aim was nothing special whatsoever.)

Mika shot another snowball, which caught Arrow in the back before he leapt behind a wide tree for shelter.

"YOU DIRTY COWARD!" Mika howled.

Arrow ignored him, and quickly scooped up about 10 small snowballs. Then he threw them in quick sucession at Mika who was still standing cluelessly in the clearing.

"Dirty...coward..." Mika repeated furiously, spitting out snow.

Arrow hid again to prepare a second onslaught, but when he looked up to throw, Mika was gone. His whereabouts were a mystery, until Arrow suddenly felt half a glacier get stuffed under the back of his shirt, heard an insane cackle of triumph and little feet running for their lives in the opposite direction.

The sight of Arrow clawing at his frozen back and swearing loudly was enough to send Mika into uncontrollable laughter so forceful that he tripped midway through the clearing and couldn't seem to get up. He resorted to laying on his back and giggling loudly and hopelessly.

About a minute later, a dark shadow loomed over him which seemed to be holding the other half of the glacier. Ready to drop it on Mika's face. He didn't know whether to stop laughing, or laugh louder.

So he resorted to quietly raising his arm and swiping Arrow's feet out from under him. The ice beneath them made this very easy. The hunk of snow went flying, Arrow crashed down beside him, and the snow smashed both of them at once.

When the hysterical laughter eventually subsided, Arrow felt compelled to ask;

"Hey Mika, ever heard of Christmas?"

* * *

Yeea, I think I'm going to be posting a little Holiday special chap for the next one :) just sayin. Nothing outrageous (leaving that for TVF) but something a bit more sparkly than usual!

PS, if I've got you totally hooked on Arrow's adorableness and haven't read the OFL series by StayBeautiful1, CHECK IT OUT! It's not Arrow-centric, as it's a Darren/OC romance, BUT it's got a few great parts with my big bald baby boy WITH my very own OC Kade. With SB1's encouragement and advice I plan to post an A/K fic in the near future! *IVE NEVER WRITTEN ROMANCE IN MY LIFE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE EFF IM DOING* so I need all the help I can get! Baha.

Onyx, TVF, Christmas stuff coming up within the month!

Also, if you have any suggestions for chapter names for THIS story, PLEASE SUGGEST THEM! I don't like simply numbering chapters, much too boring. But for some reason I'm totally stumped. The names I used to have were crappy but I can't think of anything better! SUGGESTIONS PLEASE :)

One more thing, the reviews I got last chap were AMAZING and thats partially why I updated so fast! I DO THIS FOR YOU GUYS so I really really appreciate it when you write down a few thoughts! I even accept constructive criticism.

One review goes a long way, I'm having a sad, cold Christmas season because I have to say goodbye to my beloved horse Smoke. No, he's not dying. But he is someone's Christmas present :/ but on the happier side of things, IM BUYING CRAZYHORSE! Remember the fast one that almost killed me last spring? Santa's putting her under my tree this year :)

Anyway I'm done.

Thanks so much for reading!

*Roxxy,


	7. Festivity

This is just a little short Fun and Festive Filler I wrote on my spare today :) Nothing too fancy, but I like it. enjoy!

* * *

DAY 10

"I'll bet 1 bowl of bat broth that you're gonna get dropped on the stakes for this." Mika rambled.

"You're not exactly trying to stop me." Arrow huffed.

"There's sap on my hands." the young dark Vampire complained loudly as he dropped the end of the mid-sized evergreen tree they were toting.

"Then shouldn't your hands be stuck to it then?" Arrow rolled his eyes.

"How 'bout, you drag the tree, and I'll run ahead and make sure no one's around." Mika suggested.

"Sure." Arrow shrugged, tightening his grip around the trunk and continuing the haul as Mika sprinted ahead.

The Christmas Tree had been Arrow's idea, mostly. He'd just gotten through explaining the concept of Christmas to young Mika who'd become glassy-eyed and spoke wistfully,

"It'd be nice if _we_ had a Christmas Tree..."

Arrow had simply said, "Why shouldn't we?"

Mika had grinned evilly, and here they were now. They'd had to wait several days before they could sneak out and procure the tree because between Vanez's training and Seba's chores, they were run ragged. But today everyone had moved down to a cavern in the lower west side of the Mountain, excitedly watching the first Trial of Death for some Vampire named Yebba, so Mika and Arrow practically had the place to themselves. With the help of some borrowed battle axes, they'd snuck outside, roamed around in search of the perfect tree, and somewhat messily chopped it down.

"The coast is clear all the way to the Hall of Breakfast." Mika called, running back down the hall.

"Remind me why we're putting it in the Hall of Breakfast?"

"So everyone can have some Christmas Spirit!"

_Listen to the kid! _Arrow thought to himself. _3 days ago he'd never even heard of this holiday, now he thinks he's Father Christmas!_

"You know what everyone's gonna say about this, right? The ones who know about Christmas will think we're acting like humans, and the ones who don't will think we've got rocks in our brains for bringing a tree inside."

"As long as Arian doesn't spear us, I don't really mind." Mika shrugged.

"Knowing him, he doesn't need an excuse to spear us."

"That's when we go hide behind Paris." Mika concluded decisively.

"Great plan." Arrow snorted as they rounded the corner into the Hall of Khledon Lurt, or _Breakfast_ as Mika referred to it. "Anyway, how are we gonna keep the tree standing up?"

"I thought of that." chirped Mika with a devious smile. "You stay here, I'll get it."

About 5 minutes later, Mika came back, carrying "It". "It" turned out to be a massive and slightly mutated human skull with a neat hole carved in the top. Arrow flinched as Mika whipped it out from behind his back.

"It used to be a foot for a table leg." he snickered, setting it on the floor in the corner where the tree was supposed to go.

Arrow carefully slid the base of the tree trunk into the hole, then stepped back and admired their handiwork, from the top of the tree which tapered into a perfect little point, down through the thick, full branches, and the creepy little skull at the bottom which added that Vampiric touch.

"It's perfect."

###

There was also the matter of decorations that needed to be attended to; normal humans used strings of popped corn, candles, beads, silver tinsel, and little stars or angels on the top. Of course, none of those things (except maybe the corn) could be found in the Vampire stronghold, so Mika and Arrow improvised.

With the help of a large volume of string, old animal bones became ornamets, and they made off with a bit of corn from the store rooms, roasted it over a fire 'til it popped, then strung it all together to form a garland.

But they didn't stop there. They made a second trip outside to retrieve an armload of evergreen boughs which were twisted and tied to form wreaths which they hung from torch holders down the main hall.

Mika even produced a second smaller skull to put on the very top of the tree.

"Where do you _get _these?" Arrow gasped in disgust.

Mika shrugged. "It's Vampire Mountain, you just have to know where to look! Now give me a boost!"

Arrow obliged, and Mika set the skull on the very top where it stared down at them, seeming to smirk in the torchlight.

"Are you sure we have enough skulls now, or should we find a couple more?"

"Nope. This is good." Mika declared, missing Arrow's sarcasm.

###

They sat at the long table nearest the tree and breathed the heavenly fir scent until the Hall began to fill up for dinner. Yebba had apparently passed his trial because he entered the Hall carried on the shoulders of his friends and comrades, all of whom were screaming in delight. Some didn't notice the tree, others merely chuckles, and a few gave it exremely dirty looks.

Then 3 figures walked purposefully into the Hall, and Mika and Arrow regarded each other nervously. The trio stopped dead in front of the tree and stared. Several seconds later, Ronan threw back his head and laughed raucously, aleviating some of the tension. Paris simply regarded the boys with a mixture of amusement and dissapointment. And Arian simply glared daggers as usual.

"Care to explain?" he snapped viciously.

"It's a Christmas Tree." said Mika boldly.

"I figured that much. Does this look like a damn human household to you?" the Prince shot back icily. "We are not meant to partake in foolish human frivolities!"

"Why the hell not?" Arrow growled, slightly astounded by his own impulsiveness.

Arian regarded him with the usual death stare as he prepared a crippling retort. However, Ronan clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Peace, my friend. We forget how we were all young once. Merriment is not a crime, in fact I reccomend you partake in some fun for once in your life." the muscular Prince's eyes sparkled warmly, and Mika and Arrow smiled smugly up at Arian who looked ready to blow up the Mountain.

"This is an insult to the Vampire race.'' Arian hissed before stalking out of the Hall.

"Pay him no mind. He's just consumed with stress -as we all are- over this Vampaneze business. But I see no reason not to take a night off and enjoy ourselves." Ronan concluded with a wink before ambling over to Yebba's table yelling something about "everyone deserving a good drink tonight!"

That left Paris. He turned away from the tree to face the boys, and for a moment it looked like he might yell, or at least scold, but his eyes lit up with the familiar warm fire that they found so comforting.

He hugged Mika, then Arrow, and strode off to join the others who were preparing themselves for a drinking contest.

* * *

If you left me a little review, that would be amazing ;) Thanks so much to everyone who likes this story!

*Roxxy,


	8. Time

I told you I hadn't forgotten this fic :) I wrote this whole chapter over about a week, most of it yesterday. I wrote for like 2 hours straight and was like WOAH I'M AWESOME. Then I re-read today and I was like WTF WAS I THINKING? I can garuntee the last event has never been written in DSS before. Ever ever ever. No bull! Quite literally. You'll find out.

You guys...

**heiditiger** Not anymore, apparently :D thanks!

**SUSHIxMONSTER** Yeah! for some reason I've always imagined them with an epic bromance ;) Oh boy. Don't even get me started on the aging xD I have no idea what the deal on that is, regarding how old everyone is and the whole book-accurate timeline... *headache* I just guesstimate and do what I can xD

**thatcrazygirl13** Your grandma must be awesome :O thanks so much! :D

**alwaysreading25** aaww thanks! :) yes, they are too cute :D here's your update!

**Amela333** yeee that's my boys ;) Yes, it's finally back in the updating section of my brain... hallelujah :P

**Tanya Rayne **Aww yea you know what's goood! ;) NO! MY little vampires! MINEMINE! *like seagulls in Finding Nemo* Omgrotflolmfao that's too funny xD I should definitley watch that. HAHA YOU GOT IN TROUBLE xD thanks so very very much :D

I wanted to cover a longish time period in this chap without skipping over important stuff so I tried to schmush it all in there and highlight milestones and cute stuff (the cute won't last much longer, my boys have to grow up sometime!)

So yeah, I'm not sure what to think of this chap. I like it, but I don't. But if I don't post it now, I probably never will and I don't want this story to die so here you go!

* * *

DAY 13

"Paris, just tell us! What's the suprise?" Mika whined sleepily, rubbing his eyes after being awoken many hours earlier than he would have liked.

"Yeah, what is this?" Arrow mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he and Mika stumbled along behind their mentor as he lead them through the silent corridoors of the Mountain.

"Wait and see." the old man chuckled mysteriously. At last, they arrived at the Hall of Khledon Lurt.

"Wha're we doing here?" Mika yawned, swaying slightly. He wasn't about to admit that he and Arrow had stayed awake for a good few hours more than they were supposed to, swapping ghost stories.

Paris opened the heavy door and the hinges let loose a metallic squeal.

"Auuugh..." Arrow groaned, cupping his hands around his ears.

Then they looked _beyond _the open door.

"Waaait... what's THAT?" Mika hollered.

"Yeah, _what_ the..." Arrow snorted, suddenly feeling much more awake.

"Go see for yourselves!" Paris waved a hand towards the front of the hall, and his charges sprinted towards it.

"_No _way." Arrow gasped, coming to a stop.

"SERIOUSLY?" Mika yelped, unable to contain himself.

"Seriously." said Paris with a warm smile.

In front of them was the makeshift Christmas Tree they'd established several days ago. But the suprise was what lay underneath...

"Vampires all over the Mountain are exchanging small gifts and warm wishes! No one has forgotten about Christmas, we've just forgotten to celebrate. This year, you reminded them." Paris explained, laying a hand on each of their shoulders.

"How do we know it's Christmas if we don't know what day it is?" Mika wrinkled his small nose and looked up at his mentor.

"_Au contraire_, young Ver Leth." said Paris. "Not many know this, but I keep a small calendar in my posession... I always know the date. Merry Christmas to both of you!"

"Sly." Arrow smirked.

The presents weren't wrapped or labelled, but there was no question who they were designated for. There was a Mika-sized set of armour, complete with a helmet like he'd always wanted but could never find a proper fit. And for Arrow, a wooden boomerang for practice, with a seperate blade that could be fitted into the wood for use in combat.

"_Thank you_" Arrow breathed, dumbstruck as he lifted the perfectly carved battle instrument. Meanwhile, Mika supressed a shiver of delight as he slipped on his armour. He was too entranced to remember to extend a thank-you, but all Paris needed was the light in his eyes to know it was absolutely perfect.

###

DAY 14

Exactly two weeks Arrow been living inside "the rock". But he let the anniversary slide - he was too busy teaching himself the ins and outs of the art of... Boomerangism? Boomerangmanship? Boomeraging? He and Mika hadn't quite decided on a name yet, but one thing was for sure; lack of flesh-severing blades made practicing considerably easier and much less nerve wracking.

He spent hours at a time in the Hall of Games, more often than not accompanied by Mika who donned his miniature battle armour day after day and lined up armies of dummies, which he systematically sliced to ribbons. Sometimes Arrow took a break from working the boomerang to give his young friend a pointer or guideline to improve his swordsmanship. In kind, Vanez often paused to offer Arrow some tips. The Games Master wasn't an expert on boomerang warfare, but as a weapons specialist he was never short on general advice.

For now, most of his advice went something like,

"You're doing great, Arrow. But remember, _don't _put the blades on till you can catch it 11 times out of 10. "

Mika had advice too; he was skilled at judging when would be the best time to abandon all hopes of catching the weapon, and then vigorously instructing Arrow to do so.

"DUCK! NOW! Arrow what are you waiting for, DUCK! DUCKDUCKDUCKDUCK!"

However, if Arrow listened to Mika's suggestions every time, then he'd never get to the "11 times out of 10" stage. So he rarely ducked, and had the bruises to show for it. The cut from his infamous first throw had healed up nicely, save for a good-sized scar and the moments when the muscles would burn painfully when pulled from certain angles.

When it happened, he'd grit his teeth and work through the pain.

_Gotten this far, right? Won't get any easier. I'll be fine._

###

DAY 20

Arrow limped back to his cell, exhausted from the intensive effort he'd been supplying from the momet he'd gotten up that morning.

But he was elated, he'd caught the boomerang 10 times in a row, plus once more for good luck. Vanez and Paris were proud as parents when he told them, but what they didn't know was that the final throw had been with the blade attached. And it had been his best catch yet.

He was too tired to carve the 20th notch in the side of his coffin.

Too happy to flash back to the violent night that had ended life as he knew it.

That was the day he stopped counting the days.

###

WEEK 3

Seba broke his arm in a mock fight, and the task of keeping the store rooms in running order fell largely to Arrow and Mika. Seba supervised theoretically and Paris checked in often, but the boys kept busy. Keeping lists, sorting bags, stocking shelves, making pile after pile after pile of supply bags. They knew in their hearts that Seba wasn't as hurt as he was leading them to believe, and he could have performed plenty of tasks with one hand, but they took him up on every challenge he set for them. If for no other reason, to see his astounded expression when they finished their chores in record time.

After a particularly long session of piling bags, a sore and sweaty Arrow demanded why he and Mika had such little help; after all there were plenty of strong Vampires in the mountain that could use a bit of training and discipline.

Seba stared down at him in alarm.

"Young Arrow, do you mean to say that the work is..._too_ _hard _for you? That you require the help of someone... _stronger_? Prehaps you would like to take a rest from this strenuous labour. I would completely undestand."

There they were. The exact buzz words that steeled Arrow's resolve to keep pushing himself, to try harder, to prove his elders wrong. Or to put it more simply, keep stacking bags.

Less than a month into their relationship and Seba had his personality down to a T, and he was more than willing to use his 'people skills' as a manipulation tool. His intentions were nothing but the best, but he'd still managed to outwit Arrow. For now.

###

WEEK 6

"Woah, okay. Since when are there live animals in Vampire Mountain?" Arrow yelped as he followed Seba into the lowest chamber of the mountain and was beyond shocked to see it was a veritable barnyard. There were stalls and pens built into the walls, housing cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and hogs. The floor was layered with sawdust and the place smelled. It wasn't an awful stench, it was a fairly pleasant natural odour. But it was certainly different from the rest of the mountain.

"Oh, Arrow. How did you think we get all the meat we eat on a daily basis?" Seba smirked.

"I dunno, I thought the hunters just brought it back." Arrow mumbled sullenly, disappointed that he'd been so easily suprised.

"Farm animals? In the wilderness? What a notion." Seba replied lightly.

"What's it been, a month? You kept this one quiet. Could've saved a few boring days." Arrow muttered at Mika as the two investigated the cattle pen.

"How so?" Mika asked skeptically. "They're just smelly old animals! I've only been down here a couple times in my whole life."

Arrow recalled something he'd witnessed in a small country town several years ago, a spectacle known as 'bull riding' in which a human strapped himself onto a furious horned beast and attempted to hang there for 8 seconds while the animal leaped and twisted... it was a dangerous pasttime, fit only for the bravest - or stupidest souls. But Arrow recalled the whoops of delight from the spectators and even the rider himself, such fun. He decided impulsively to add it to his bucket list; that big black bull in the corner would do just fine. He was about to present this idea to Mika - out of Seba's earshot - when the aforementioned interrupted;

"That will change, Mika. Our animal keepers left yesterday on a Vampaneze scouting mission since we are slightly low on warriors right now and it is all hands on deck right now. The two of you will take their place. You need not worry about slaughtering and butchering, but you will be expected to feed and clean them."

"On top of taking care of the store rooms, AND battle training?" Arrow demanded sharply.

"Watch your tone." Seba shot back with equal sharpness. "My arm is healing, and I am expecting a new crop of assistants who will be staying here after the Festival. I will teach them to do your jobs. And as for battle training..." His eyes fell on Arrow's. "...do tell, exactly _what _battle are you training for, hmm?"

Arrow's jaw dropped.

"Iunno...I'm just... getting prepared." he fumbled, unable to find the exact phrasing he was looking for.

Of course he knew what he was training for, he was looking ahead to his future. To vengeance. Surely Seba knew that.

"You will have plenty of time to practice throwing your boomerang." Seba replied, as though soothing a child.

Arrow groaned inwardly, wishing he had an explanation for how it was so much more than that.

It was a painful struggle to keep his angry tongue in check as Seba methodically taught them how to ... _painful sigh _... gather eggs.

###

WEEK 8

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, please don't let him be dead, I'll be in so much trouble if he's dead, pleasepleaseplease let him wake up, oh gods please don't let this be the end!"

Arrow was frantic. Paris was shellshocked. Ronan was worried. Arian was expressionless. Seba and Vanez were hard at work. All were gathered around Mika, who was unconscious and bleeding from the head.

_20 minutes ago._

It had started out simply enough. It was the end of a long week, Mika and Arrow were exhasuted from tending to the godsforsaken animals. The Festival of the Undead kicked off in less than 24 hours, and the boys were in high spirits; feeling even more adventurous than usual.

So when Arrow suggested they try their hands at bull riding, Mika had been extremely enthusiastic.

The cattle pen was ideal. It was a massive pit sunk 5 feet into the ground, with a 5-foot fence on all sides. The pit was divided into segments. There were 7 bulls to 20 cows; each bull was kept seperate while the cows were all together. Except for today, the big black bull - Mika christened him Black Bart - was turned loose amidst the females - it was breeding season. So if someone were to get on his back, he would have plenty of room to buck, and would do so with extreme vigour. The opportunity was too exciting to pass up.

Straws had been drawn to determine who would take the first ride. Mika won.

"Are you sure you don't want me to test it out first?" the older boy inquired to his significantly smaller friend.

"You worry too much. I'll be fine. I'm tough!" Mika shot back merrily as he climbed the fence, directly above where Black Bart was standing.

"Yeah I know you are, but Paris, Seba, and everyone in between will drop me on the stakes if anything happens to you." Arrow replied apprehensively as Mika prepared to take the plunge into the pen.

"Wish me luck." Mika ignored Arrow's previous statement, and without further ado he jumped lightly onto the wide back of the jet black bull.

At first, Black Bart didn't know what hit him; clearly he'd never been used as a makeshift rodeo stock animal. Mika still could have jumped off, ran for his life, and no one would have been any the wiser.

But instead, the young Vampire slapped the bull on the side of the neck, and poked it sharply with its small heels. In their excitement over this potential new hobby, they had overlooked the fact that bull riders use a system of rope to help hold onto the bull, because other than that there's nothing to grip but abundant rolls of fat.

So when Black Bart exploded like a hairy tornado, kicking up his heels and spinning in frenzied circles, Mika lasted about point-one second, then he was flipped off the left side like a rag doll. Head first into the stone wall. Before 8 seconds was up, the bleeding started.

It had all happened so fast, Arrow hadn't even had time to contemplate the situation, let alone the consequences.

The only words rattling around in his mind were, _How could I be so bloody fucking stupid? _as he sprinted to the fence, vaulted over it, dropped 10 feet and landed painfully on the floor, only slightly cushioned by sawdust. He scrambled to Mika's side, ignoring hiw newly sprained ankle. To his horror, blood had pooled thickly around the boys head, but his fear lessened slightly when he saw he was breathing.

"Mika, get up, wake up, Mika, please... can you hear me? All my fault, oh my gods it's all my fault... It's gonna be okay, I promise. Hold on, I'm gonna get... no, no time..._argghh!_" Stress chewed into his psyche like acid, releasing itself into the air in the form of a frustrated snarl. There was no time to get help, he had to _move._

He lifted Mika gently, and set him on the ledge. Thankfully his body was small enough to slide under the fence. Once Mika was up, Arrow jumped as high as he could, and grabbed the fence. Hauled himself up, ignoring the wooden splinters biting his hands. Then he lifted Mika into his arms as gently as he would an infant, and bolted for the exit, taking as much care as possible not to further damage his young comrade.

The long sprint up through the mountain passed in a daze, he was so frantic he forgot to feel exhausted as he reached the Hall of Princes and slammed his shoulder into the door with all his might. Any other day, he would have been proud of the creaky groan the wood emitted from being hit with such strength.

Within a minute, the door was opened from the inside. Arrow pushed his way through the moment a crack appeared, and had to struggle not to collapse with fatigue. He was too out of breath to form a coherent statement, but Mika's limp body spoke for itself.

Paris did not scream, but the look on his face was worse than a vocal outburst. He lurched forward out of his throne and stumbled to his students' sides.

"Fetch Seba!" he roared to no one in particular. Prince Ronan took it upon himself, and flitted from the room.

Arrow stared down at the blood seeping onto the floor despite Paris's efforts to wipe it with his own sleeve. Despite his many years of drinking the stuff, he was transfixed by the way it pooled, the terrifyingly vibrant colour, and the crimson-black shade it assumed when dried.

Only when his shoulder was shaken roughly did he realize Paris was demanding repeatedly how this happened.

"It was an... accident. I swear... I didn't mean..." Arrow supplied, trying not to whimper. He doubted he could ever find the courage to explain that it was entirely his fault, and the cause had been _bull riding, _of all stupid things.

"Those around you seem to frequently wind up in bad shape, young Arrow." Arian sneered. He didn't know it, or maybe he didn't care, but that jab would emotionally cripple Arrow for the rest of his life.

_Oh my gods he's right... my parents... Faren... now Mika... oh my gods... _He thought his head would implode. The stress and the pressure were killing him...

"HUSH." Paris snapped, unclear as to whether he was adressing his apprentice or his fellow Prince.

Finally Seba careened into the hall lugging a makeshift First-Aid kit, he was followed narrowly by Ronan and Vanez.

_Oh my gods, oh my gods, please don't let him be dead, _I'll do anything, _pleasepleaseplease let him wake up, oh gods please don't let this be the end!_

* * *

Yeah. I went there. I put farm animals in Vampire Mountain. AND I CAN DO THAT. CUZ IT'S IN THE BOOK. AMIRIGHT? We don't see them, but they're mentioned. I think. Or else I sound like a complete ignoramus right now. Either or.

The bull riding incident is inspired by what would have happened if an adventure of mine had not been intercepted by an adult. Congratulations, Mika. You're the first Vampire to have THIS happen to you.

Mika: *cough*HATEYOURGUTS*cough*

Anyway, as previously stated, the cute won't last much longer. THEY'VE BEEN KIDDIES IN THIS STORY SINCE 2008. IT MUST END! Not the story, the kiddyness.

Arrow: Yeah. I wanna grow up and shave my head and get TATS! *flexes muscles*

All in due time, o cute one. :)

Till next time, whenever the fuck that may be - PLEASE JUST REVIEW.

RXP


	9. Reality

I sure take my time, don't I? I think this is an alright chapter. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, other than I saw Black Bart (refer to previous chapter) in person last week ;) awyeah! Pic on my FB page.

Also, I hope the formatting on this chapter isn't fucked right to hell.. FF Net hates my Macbook so far. But on the bright side, I don't know how to turn off the spellcheck so that kicks the ass of my typo habit ;) Yays. AND ITS A LONG, ACTIONY CHAPTER TO BOOT!

OH, and it's official. My story of Arrow's life is officially non-compatible with The Saga of Larten Crepsley. HOLY MOTHER OF CHARNA'S TITS, Palace of the Damned was incredible. Right up there at the top of my list beside The Vampire Prince. THANK YOU DSS FOR FINALLY DOING MY BOY SOME JUSTICE! Arrow forever.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

Arrow pressed his palms against the sides of his forehead in an effort to block out the pain that throbbed within his cranium; but to no avail. He emitted a low groan of anxiety and continued to internally berate himself.

_How could you be such a gods-damned idiot? _He demanded of himself. _You forgot to use your pathetic excuse of a brain before going off on one of your stupid ideas, and look what it cost your best friend! If it had been you, that would be one thing. But Mika! If he dies…_

_SHUT UP! _The young vampire implored the cruel sneering of his subconscious.

_…if he dies, it's all on you. _

With that last jab, the voice in his head fell eerily silent, leaving him alone with his thoughts, guilt, and runaway imagination; a bad combination when one is alone in a small dark room. His own cell had never felt so alien; he miserably longed to hear Mika's irritatingly energetic voice echo off the walls like it did every evening and morning. And if it never did again, he only had himself to blame.

_Stupid._

_Stupid. _

_Stu-_

"Arrow?"

"Paris." he replied in surprise. His elderly mentor did not frequently visit this end of the mountain. But there he was, standing in the doorway without a single trace of expression on his gnarled face.

"I thought I would find you here." said the old Prince, casually walking in and taking a seat on the lid of Arrow's coffin. Arrow himself was sitting on the floor, back against the chilly wall - willing himself to somehow vanish into it and stay there forever.

"Well… it _is _my room." Arrow replied warily, searching Paris' face for a sign of whatever news he was bearing.

"I assumed you would remain in the Hall of Recovery with your young friend?" said Paris lightly, blue eyes grazing Arrow's face.

"I couldn't stay." Arrow gulped, not managing to maintain the calm chill in his voice. "Not after what Arian said."

Paris pressed his lips together and stared down at his own fingers contemplatively.

"Keeping you in suspense is cruel." he announced after several seconds of silence. "Mika will make a full recovery, he simply suffered a very nasty bump, and lost quite a bit of blood since head wounds tend to bleed quite terribly. But make no mistake, your tenacious comrade will be around to cause trouble for many nights to come."

It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did Arrow shakily let go of the breath he'd been holding for the past several hours. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall, finally allowing his body and mind to relax.

"How's he doing?" he inquired with an ounce of hopefulness.

"He woke up several minutes before I came to see you. He's a little disoriented, but he certainly remembers what happened." Paris chuckled. "He's all for giving it another try - the animal's name was Black Bart, am I correct?"

"Yeah…" Arrow shrugged abashedly, completely regretting his participation in the entire endeavour. "It was Mika's idea."

"A fitting name. I believe it will stick." Paris smirked.

"I hope it doesn't." Arrow grumbled. "Stupid idea…"

"Arrow, you must not take Arian's words to heart." Paris stated abruptly, abandoning all casual pretence. "I can see how what he said has been troubling you, it is written all over your face."

Arrow had no comeback; he glanced up to meet his mentor's eyes then turned his own back to the floor.

"Arian is…" Paris sighed heavily, seeming to search for words. "…a fractured individual. His reasons I'll not say, but one of his many unorthodox methods of coping include forcing his own misery upon those around him, to which you bear testament."

"_But he's right_." Arrow blurted out. "My parents were slaughtered, and probably used their last moments to hide me. Faren was-" His throat hitched as he uttered his mentor's name for the first time in weeks. He buried his face in his hands, lost in fury and regret. "-killed right in front of me and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. And now Mika… It's all because of me." He raised his head and affixed Paris with an obstinate stare. "Don't try to tell me otherwise. Arian. Is. Right."

Paris stared right back at his grief-stricken student with an expression of empathy mingled with frustration.

"You are so determined to make yourself suffer for what is not your fault." the old Vampire murmured tiredly, slowly standing up and making his way out of the room. "I hope one day your sense outweighs your stubbornness. In the mean time, Mika wishes to see you." he declared in closing, softly shutting the door and leaving Arrow alone once more

###

"I remember grabbing his fur and trying to hold on, but it was really soft and slippery." Mika babbled excitedly, recounting his bull-riding experience to his eager audience of Arrow. "Then he did this really big jump, and I went FLYING!"

"I know." Arrow cringed, passing his young friend another mug of warm blood.

"And I don't remember anything after that." Mika shrugged, slurping the blood.

"I can take it from there." Arrow rolled his eyes. "You hit the wall, then the floor, and you started bleeding buckets. I carried you all the way back-"

"You were prob'ly freaking out the whole time." Mika sniggered.

"No shit." Arrow glared. "I thought I killed you. I can't believe I let you try that…"

"Yeah. It was dumb." Mika agreed perkily, draining his mug.

Arrow ground his teeth and shifted uncomfortably. He was stationed on an empty cot he'd dragged over beside Mika's.

"Don't feel bad." Mika added in a coaxing tone, noticing the upset undercurrent in best friend's behaviour. "It wasn't your fault. You kinda tried to stop me, and I got on Bart all by myself."

"But I know better than you! At least I'm supposed to..." Arrow groaned. "No offence."

"Hey." Mika interrupted seriously. "Look at it this way, I don't have to do chores till this bandage comes off! And Seba said I'm gonna have a big scar!"

_Great._ Arrow thought. _A big, ugly reminder right on the middle of his forehead so every time I look at his face for the next few hundred years I'll remember the time I almost sent him to his death._

"Wow. Great." he lied, forcing his face into a smile.

"I've always wanted a real battle scar." the dark-haired youth grinned dreamily, burrowing happily into his nest of pillows.

"You'll get plenty when you grow up." Arrow promised. "Don't waste skin space on big dumb animals."

"Black Bart's not dumb." Mika corrected.

"No. He's dinner." Arrow snorted.

Mika's face began to twist into a laugh at Arrow's joke, but his expression morphed backwards into dismay as his eyes focused on something over Arrow's shoulder. Arrow turned, and felt a pang of unwelcome anticipation as he saw Seba and Paris racing down the hall towards them. As the two old Vampires drew closer, the two younger companions could see fear written across their teachers' faces.

"Wha-" Arrow began, but he didn't even get he entire word out.

"VAMPANEZE!" Seba bellowed. "Vampaneze in the Mountain!"

That one word, the V-word was the only trigger Arrow needed for his body temperature spike from normal to too high. The voices of Faren's murderers echoed in his mind, laughing, sneering… _despicable. _He became engulfed with the overwhelming desperation to fight, rip, stab… to kill… _to destroy. _

"Where?" he demanded, flying to his feet.

"In the lower chambers, there was a cave-in in near an entrance hall, and somehow that got them in." Paris explained hurriedly. "There's no time, I have to go help fend them off. The two of you must go with Seba now. Hide, stay safe until someone comes to fetch you."

"I'm going with you!" Arrow snapped forcefully.

"Don't be aubsurd." Paris snarled. "You're a child, this is a battle. Now GO!"

"I'M NOT A CHILD." Arrow roared back, temper leaving his body in a rage. "I have to fight them! For Faren!" Passion and desperation left him shaking. Paris' eyes softened but his face remained impassive.

"Your time will come, that I assure you." the Prince responded cooly. "But let me also assure you that your presence in this fight would be meaningless. You wouldn't last a minute, Arrow. I refuse to send you to your death. Go with Seba. _Now._"

"Arrow, come on." Mika pleaded in a small voice. "Let's go."

Arrow shot the famously _wise_ Paris Skyle -_Wise! Does this ignorant fool not know who he's dealing with?- _a glare of utter loathing, then turned to follow Mika and Seba as they thundered down the hallway in search of a sanctuary.

###

"You'll be safe here." Seba promised, opening a rusty door which apparently lead to… nothing. It was a small, dank, dusty chamber filled with nothing but spiderwebs and a few supplies; benches, stools, extra coffins and the like.

"You're not staying?" Mika inquired apprehensively, looking suspiciously around the room.

"I can not. All able-bodied Vampires are needed on deck."

"But you're old. You shouldn't have to fight." Mika responded in dismay.

"No one is forcing me to fight, young Ver Leth." Seba explained gently. "It is quite simply the only honourable option. If I chose to hide up here and allow my clan to lay down their lives for my protection, I am worth no more than our enemies. Someday you will understand."

"Now explain exactly why that doesn't apply to me too?" Arrow interjected belligerently.

"I have lived a full and useful life. I am ready to die for my clan." Seba replied with passion burning deeply in his eyes. "You on the other hand, are young and unproven. You are worth much more alive than you are dead."

Arrow's jaw went slack in disappointment and frustration as he tried to come up with a reasonable argument. Seba gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You will find the revenge you crave so greatly, Arrow. This I swear to you. Now I must go. For the sake of your clan, _please stay here._"

And he was gone.

"What if he never comes back?" Mika asked nervously after a moment of ringing silence.

"It's Seba. He knows his way around a fight. Same with Paris. They'll be fine." Arrow replied impatiently, investigating the door Seba had shut behind him. "_Gods damn it! _He locked it from the outside. Sonnova bitch!" he hissed furiously, rattling the door with all his might.

"You weren't still thinking about going to fight, were you?" Mika retorted in shock.

"How could I _not _be?" Arrow croaked miserably, wheeling around sharply to face Mika. "They killed the only family I had. _TWICE._"

"I _know_. And I'm _sorry_. But didn't you listen to Seba? They'll kill you like they killed them! Then there'll be _nobody_ to get them back for what they did to your parents and your mentor. If you go out there today, you're handing them another victory." Mika reasoned, sounding decades beyond his years with just as much obstinence as his older brother.

"You all underestimate me." Arrow breathed icily, sizing up the door and taking a step back… and slamming his body full-force into the door. He grunted at the pain of the impact as it seared his entire right side, but he smiled in grim satisfaction as he heard a rusty crunch. One more hit, and the ancient, weak metal snapped under the pressure. His shoulder felt slightly broken, but he blocked it out along with Mika's indignant yells of protest.

"Stay here." he ordered his young friend, praying with all his might that his command would be heeded. He knew what he was doing was deeply and shamefully wrong, but he banished every thought, save for the mental image of himself mowing down hordes of purple-skinned demons. Then he sprinted in the direction of his cell where his sword and boomerang lay waiting, ready to taste the blood of the Vampaneze.

###

From a flat spot at the top of the piled rocks from the cave-in, he had a perfect view of the fight. The Vampaneze -his blood boiled at the sight of them- about four dozen had entered from the South. The Vampire troops were spilling down from the West and North corridors, surrounding the enemy. He could make out Arian in the epicentre of the skirmish, eliminating foes left and right with cruelly efficient brute force. He never seemed to kill instantly, rather wound fatally then move on to the next opponent while the previous lay gasping and bleeding out. Nearby, Ronan made each kill in a seamlessly clean manner, either severing a main artery or else with a quick stab to the heart. Paris moved throughout the crowd, seeming to focus on aiding fellow Vampires who were becoming overwhelmed, rather than taking on enemies himself.

Arrow watched the fight rage for several minutes, until he shook off his mesmerization and strategized his entrance. He decided he'd climb down the rocks behind him, so he'd be invisible until he slipped out of the cavern and joined the fray. His imagination had teased him with ideas of invincibility and valour, but now that he was here, the idea of rushing into battle was painfully overwhelming. His stomach tied itself in nauseous knots and his head ached with stress… until his sworn mortal enemy suddenly crossed into his line of vision.

Rasa's son; Arrow would recognize the greasy stringy hair and pathetic sneer as long as he lived. The bastard was currently fending off a Vampire General, and Arrow was sickened to see that the Vampaneze was winning. _Not for long. _His fears vaporized in an instant, and a vicious, bloodthirsty battle cry tore from his throat.

And he bolted headlong into the midst of the violence.

###

Arrow was no stranger to combat. You didn't survive long in the wild unless you knew how to fight; he'd spent his entire life fending off grizzlies, wildcats, muggers, and a wide variety of very seedy folks. Not to mention Vampaneze. Faren, being a crucial informant had made the Vampanezes' list of Most Wanted Vampires a long time ago, and had remained a high priority for elimination. Any other Vampire would probably have been tracked down and killed years ago, but Faren's survival skills had been unmatched. He was always three steps ahead of the enemy, which was the only reason he'd made it as far as he did. Even so, he and his student had survived their fair share of attacks and ambushes; each encounter leaving them more hardened and ready for the next challenge.

But Arrow had never seen battle like this.

His already heightened senses were pushed to their limits and his body tensed as he wove his way through the sea of twisting bodies, flailing limbs, and bloody weapons. The young Vampire held his shield close to his chest and his sword out in front, slashing at whatever got in his way. His boomerang was strapped to his back, ready to be pulled free and fly at a moment's notice. Never mind that he hadn't practiced in days, and was inexperienced as it was. His hard, dark eyes scanned the crowd, searching for that one cowardly-

_Slam. Crash. Crumble._

_Oh gods..._

His body went into a momentary shock as he was sideswiped by someone about 3 times his size. The air rushed from his lungs as he hit the stone floor of the cavern. Spots flashed in his vision; when they cleared he could make out a towering figure looming over him, holding what appeared to be a crude hammer-like weapon of wood and stone… poised directly above Arrow's skull. The young Vampire felt nothing as he stared up into the brute's leering face. He didn't feel death creeping up on him. Didn't see his life flash before his eyes, or anything remotely poetic or dramatic. All he saw was an ugly purple-skinned monster that needed to be eliminated.

One second.

Arrow kicked out wildly. On sheer luck -luck of the gods?- his foot connected to bone. Ankle bone. The sickly crack was barely audible above the cacophony of battle, but Arrow didn't need to hear it to know it was a perfect hit.

Two seconds.

The Vampaneze's ankle gave way and he toppled, shrieking in fury and pain. The granite head of his hammer hit the floor mere inches from Arrow's face. Had he not thrown his foe off balance, it would have landed in the middle of his skull.

Three seconds.

Arrow was back on his feet, eyes scanning for the next enemy. Three seconds was all it had taken. But even that was a waste; as would be every moment spent until Faren was avenged, and his killer disembowelled. He knew very well he may never get another chance like this… he had to act before someone other Vampire made the kill that rightfully belonged to Arrow alone. He charged deeper into the heart of the violence, dodging blades left and right. Close to the stone walls, he ran across a Vampire -face obscured by a helmet- being backed into a corner by three snarling Vampaneze. The Vampire was powerfully built, but bleeding heavily from the shoulder. His wounds were making it impossible to fend off his attackers; the middle of the three Vampaneze dealt a powerful blow with the edge of his shield and the Vampire sunk to the floor in a snarl of agony. Enraged on behalf of his fellow warrior, Arrow drew his sword and plunged thoughtlessly in front of the advancing Vampaneze, effectively shielding his fallen comrade from further harm.

"We have a _hero _among us." the shortest Vampaneze sneered.

"Correction, a child who thinks he can play the part." the tallest retorted with equal mockery.

Incensed, Arrow lashed out wildly with his sword without a target in mind. He swung wide, and his trio of opponents avoided his offence with a step backwards. Panting in anger and stress he attacked again; this time aiming his blade at the purple-skinned man closest to him. His swing was uncoordinated but strong and his entire body rattled when his sword connected with the Vampaneze's shield. He recovered just in time to see his foe's right arm snake out from behind the safety of his shield, holding a much bigger blade than Arrow's. Arrow didn't have a millisecond to waste on thought, his instincts ruled his hardened body, and he ducked hard to the left. He could hear the metallic _swish _as the blade cleared him with inches to spare. Adrenaline rushed; he recovered his balance and struck again. But the Vampaneze blocked the attack, forcing Arrow's blade downwards and almost yanking it out of his hand. Grunting in frustration, Arrow slammed his shield into his opponent's shoulder. That gave him the opportunity he needed to free his blade and plunge it into the purple-skinned chest. But the hit didn't carry enough force to be lethal and the Vampaneze was able to fling himself backwards off the blade before it impaled him completely. Wounded but still on his feet, he stared Arrow down through narrowed eyes. His two comrades had fallen back to watch the action unfold, but now they were advancing on Arrow with evil smiles. The young Vampire realized belatedly that he was cornered. He'd come this far unwounded, only to be staring death in the face backed up against a stone wall. Three Vampaneze soldiers against an untrained newly-blooded kid Vampire. It would be a messy, brutal, dishonourable death. He could feel the blood rushing in his ears as panic introduced itself for the first time that day. Faren's killer was still out there! And what would Paris say when he found his student's mangled body lying in the carnage amongst the soldiers that had died for the clan?

_No._

Arrow took a deep breath and faced his enemies head-on like a true soldier. He knew he couldn't make it out of this alive, but there was no way in hell he was going to make it easy for them. A steely sense of purpose locked out everything but determination and he prepared himself to slash, rip, stab, kick, bite, whatever he had to do to take as many Vampaneze with him as possible, while leaving scars on all the rest. He tensed his body and prepared to spring, to engage in what was looking like last fight. The middle Vampaneze motioned to raise how sword, then halted shakily. His face went slack in shock and he looked down at his chest from where a silver blade tainted with crimson was suddenly protruding. He stared at it for several moments, as though trying to puzzle out what it was and why it was there… then the blade twisted sharply, carving a cavity into his chest before being wrenched backwards and disappearing from sight. A mighty shudder wracked his body and he sunk to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth like a waterfall, choking off his desperate gasps for air. He was dead before his body hit the floor. Staring down at his victim, his killer's face was obscured by a helmet but Arrow recognized him as the Vampire he'd saved from being overpowered and disembowelled, minutes ago. The other two Vampaneze scattered into the fray, shooting venomous looks at the pair of Vampires who'd bested them.

Arrow stared up at his saviour, trying to find words. He tried to say _"thanks"_ but it came out as an indignant _"I would have been fine on my own!"_

"You'd be in 10 different pieces right now if I didn't believe in repaying my debts." the man shot back venomously. Arrow's heart sank; it was a voice he recognized all too well… Arian removed his helmet to give Arrow a proper death glare. "Are you surprised?" He sneered at the boy in front of him. "Bet you wouldn't have saved my life if you knew it was me, hmmm? Wise choice. If I didn't owe you my life I wouldn't have bothered to spare yours." The Prince allowed himself a quick barky laugh, then his eyes went stone cold once again. Before disappearing back into the battle, he hissed "Get out of here, little Arrow. Leave the fighting to the real Vampires. And don't think I won't be telling Paris that you deliberately disobeyed his orders."

Arrow felt not just his face, but his entire body burning with shame and fury as he turned away from the fight. The cacophony of battlecries and screams of agony faded into white noise… until one voice rose above all of it like an alarm bell going off in Arrow's head, screaming his name in terror.

_Oh gods, Mika… _

There he was, pressed up against a wall on the other side of the chamber, visible only because it was slightly elevated from where Arrow was standing. He was surrounded by brawling soldiers who seemed to take no notice of the fact that a child had inadvertently slipped into their war. Arrow took off like a bullet from a gun, sprinting, ducking, rolling, dodging his way through the chaos. He felt a blade nick his side, followed by a warm wet gush as his blood supply began to drain. But he did not feel pain, he _could not _allow himself to feel _anything_. Short of being decapitated, nothing would keep him from reaching-

"Mika, what the hell are you doing here?" he gasped, grabbing his young brother roughly by the shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"No." Mika whimpered softly. His face was completely expressionless, shellshocked. His eyes seemed to look through Arrow, rather than at him. He was hypnotized by the bloody sea of raging violence before them.

"Mika, look at me. We have to get out of here. _Now_." Arrow urged. "Come on."

"You're hurt." Mika pointed out, eyes coming back into focus as he noticed the rapidly widening red stain on Arrow's left side.

"It's fine." Arrow replied through forcibly gritted teeth. The pain would get him soon. He had to move while he still could… "Listen to me. We have to get out. Do you see that opening up there?" he pointed at the hole in the rock face, diagonally across the cavern from where they were.

"Yeah."

"That's where I came through. We have to get there. We're gonna run along this wall till we get there, then you're gonna climb. Got it?" Even as he spoke, his eyes searched the crowd hungrily for Rasa's son. He couldn't imagine anything more dishonourable than leaving the fight now even though he could already feel the life draining from his body along with the blood. His vision was blurring, spots flared in his line of sight. Time distorted itself, his body swayed before he felt his knees go weak. Mika's small hands scrabbled frantically at his arms and shoulders, trying to hold him up. The raven-haired boy's lips were moving blearily as though in slow motion, his words sounded attached and far away. Arrow was falling, the will to fight evaporated like mist, nothing mattered now. He was dying.

_"Go. RUN." _Arrow pleaded. The words sounded out of synch with the motion of his lips but he didn't care; was this what Faren's last living minutes had felt like? Throwing whatever faith he had left into the one person on earth that mattered, and praying to the gods they made it to safety alone because he himself didn't stand a chance in hell?

So much blood. Blood on his hands, blood on his chest, his legs, running in rivulets onto the unforgiving rock floor. His life, pooling before his very eyes.

_Sorry I didn't do better, Faren. See you soon. _

* * *

Poor angsty Arrow... xD

There will be a time jump in the very near future. Actually, I might even split this into more than one fic. I just want this one to be over already. it's been over 4 years in production (fuckwow) and I'm extremely eager to say goodbye to this one and continue the next segment of Arrow's life.

And yes, I've changed the title about 184552534 times... idfk I need to re-visit the song lyrics too. AND AND I'm still not satisfied with the first three chapters. The formatting on 3 is REALLY fucked but I haven't had time to fix it... Extensive edits hopefully to come. This is definitely the most changed-up fic I've ever written.

Surprisingly I have nothing else to say tonight. Well, except for I'm having surgery tomorrow. The none-life-threatening kind, I'm not that exciting xD I've never had surgery except for getting some teeth taken out once, so I dunno if I'm gonna feel like writing in the next few days but I'm certainly gonna have a ton of free time. Fingers crossed that all goes well! xo

RXP


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